






THINKING OF YOU,’ SAID THE BOY.” 

Page 49. 


**♦1 WAS 


I 


/ 



r. 


THE WINNING SIDE. 



BY 


. MARY DWINELL CHELLIS, 


AUTHOR OF “the TURNING OF THE WHEEL,” “MISS BELINDA'S FRIENDS,” “PROFIT 
AND LOSS,” “bread AND BEER,” “ OUR HOMES,” “ALL FOR MONEY,” 

. “FROM FATHER TO SON,” “THE BREWERY AT TAYLOR- 

VILLE,” “the BREWER^S FORTUNE,” “ WEALTH . - 

AND WINE,” “ AUNT Dinah’s pledge,” 

“ THE TEMPERANCE DOCTOR,” 

ETC., ETC. 



New York: 


The National Temperance Society and Publication House, 

No. 58 READE STREET, 


1888 


P7. /' 



Copyright, 1888, by 

The National Temperance Society and Publication House 


, . PRESS OF 

THE NATIONAL TEMPERANCE SOCIETY AND PUBLICATION HOUSE, 
58 READE STREET, NEW YORK, 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. A Box OF A House 5 

II. Gketchen Stagel 15 

III. An Account Closed 26 

IV. Arnot Slocum 37 

V. Old Tom and Young Tom 49 

VI. Beaten by a Woman 62 

VII. A Braye Leader 73 

VIII. Gretchen^s Missionary Work. ... 83 

IX. The Released Prisoner 95 

X. The Beggar Transformed 106 

XI. Gretchen’s Pledge 118 

XII. The Little Cellar Restaurant. . . 129 

XIII. The Water Street Saloon .... 141 

XIV. Miss Ruth Bates 152 

XV. A Great Mistake 164 

XVI. The Brewer^s Triumph 175 

XVII. Helping all Around 186 

XVIII. Baffled 197 

XIX. Strange Revelations. . , . . . . 209 

XX. The New Brewery 221 

XXI. Deaf and Dumb Rancy 233 

(iii) 


iv Contents. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXII. The Chaem . 244 

XXIII. Beh Willett^s Heirs 255 

XXIV. Settling Accounts 266 

XXV. Law and Order 278 

XXVI. A Strange Letter 289 

XXVII. The Third Warning 299 

XXVIII. Some Changes 309 

XXIX. Ketribhtion 317 


THE WINNINH SIDE. 


CHAPTEB L 

A BOX OP A HOUSE. 

“How has the day gone with my laddies?” 
asked a pleasant-faced woman, as two boys 
came bounding into the kitchen, looking around 
as if hardly sure they were at home. 

“The day has gone better than I expected,” 
answered the younger of the boys. 

“ And how has it been with you, Theron ?” 

For a moment there was no response to this 
question. Then the boy answered frankly : 

“I got terribly angry, and if Victor had not 
raised his hand to warn me, I should have given 
Claude Hindman a good thrashing. He told the 
boys that father had failed, and we lived in a 
box.” 

“It is true, my son, that your father has 
failed.” 

“I know it, but it was mean in Hindman to 

twit us of it ; meaner than failing, anyway, and 

( 6 ) 


6 


The Winning Side. 

everybody knows that father did the best he 
could. I wouldn’t have a brewer for a father, 
and I had a good mind to tell Claude Hindman 
so, but I didn’t.” 

“ What did you say to him ?” 

“ Nothing, mother. Victor raised his hand in 
time to stop the words that were on my tongue.” 

“I am very thankful Victor helped you to 
remember.” 

“ So am I, mother, but I wish Claude Hind- 
man went to some other school. I should think 
his father would send him to some grand acad- 
emy ; he thinks so much of being rich.” 

“Perhaps he thinks as your father does, that 
a public school is the best place for boys.” 

“Perhaps so, and after all what Hindman 
says won’t hurt me. This house is a kind of 
box, isn’t it?” 

“A pretty large box, Theron. It will hold 
my dearest treasures, so I shall not complain of 
its size.” 

“There is room for us all,” rejoined Victor. 
“You know Con says she don’t care how small 
the house is, if we are only all here ; and her 
room will be real pretty. She mijst have pretty 
things because she is pretty herself ; and, moth- 
er, don’ t you think we can manage some way to 
have her stay in school ? It will be too bad for 
her not to graduate.” 


7 


A Box of a House. 

“ It will be for the best, however it may be, 
Victor. We may be sure of that, and Constance 
will be sure of it, too.” 

“ She is always sure of everything good, and 
she is the best sister in the world. Father says 
she is like you, so you must be the best mother 
in the world. It is almost time for father to 
come, isn’t it ? ” 

“Yes, and we must have dinner ready for 
him.” 

“I will set the table, mother. I am real glad 
we have all grandmother’s blue cbina. It is 
better than what was sold.” 

“ And then there is the real solid silver.” 

“Yes, boys, the blue china and the silver be- 
long to Constance, so they could not be sold.” 

“I am glad of it, but we can use them. Con 
is willing to share with the rest of us, and The 
and I mean to have something to share with the 
rest. We can manage to live if we are poor. 
And, mother, please you get a real good dinner 
for father. The and I can eat almost anything, 
but we want you and father to have nice things, 
same as you always had.” 

“We will share alike,” the mother answered 
quietly. “We have no wish to fare better than 
our children. We will do the best we can for 
them and for ourselves ; and with that we will 
be content.” 


8 


The Winning Side. 

“ Yes, motlier, we will, and Claude Hindman 
can say just what he pleases. I shan’t mind it 
a bit. This is a good deal better house than we 
expected to live in. Why, mother, we thought 
perhaps we should have just two rooms, with 
lots of other folks in the same house. This is 
pretty good, and Mr. Lyman said we could have 
the land for a garden.” 

“We will have a first rate garden, too,” 
chimed in Victor. “ We have got money enough 
to buy the seeds, and we are going to find out 
what vegetables we can get the best price for ; 
because, you know, we must make the garden 
pay a profit, besides giving us all we need for 
ourselves. Father used to plant, and hoe, and 
pull weeds when he was a boy, and it won’ t hurt 
us any more than it did him.” 

The loss of his property was a heavy blow to 
Mr. Chappelle, but his wife and children helped 
him to bear it, and when the last dollar of his 
indebtedness was paid, they gathered together 
what little remained to them, resolved to make 
the most and best of their possessions. 

The^ house they had so long occupied was sold 
with the furniture, and as the purchaser wished 
to take immediate possession, they left as soon 
as other accommodations could be found. For- 
tunately, the place they now occupied was of- 
fered them at a merely nominal rent ; the owner 


A Box of a House. 9 

having received the title to it in payment of a 
debt. 

Claude Hindman had well described it as a 
box of a house. There was a kitchen, bedroom, 
and pantry ; then a room facing the street, a 
narrow hall, with a stairway leading to the 
chambers, one small, and one of comfortable 
size. 

“lam glad the men didn’t get anything built 
but the L,” said Theron. “If there had been 
much more of it, we couldn’t afford to pay the 
rent. But there comes father. Now look just 
as bright and pleasant as you can, so he will 
know we are all right.” 

Mr. Chappelle walked slowly, as though fn no 
haste to reach home ; yet, when his boys ran to 
meet him, and his wife waited for him just out- 
side the door, he quickened his steps. He had 
been quite discouraged, but instantly the world 
grew brighter and his heart stronger. He gave 
smile for smile, and his greetings lacked nothing 
of cheerfulness. If the dinner lacked elaborate 
serving, this lack was more than compensated 
by hearty appreciation. 

When dinner was over, the boys desired their 
father and mother to go into the parlor, while 
they made all things tidy in the kitchen. 

“I have been making up accounts for West- 
cott this afternoon, and I shall be busy there to- 


lo The Winning Side. 

morrow. Beyond tliat I am not sure of an 
hour’s work,” said Mr. Chappelle to his wife, in 
answer to the unspoken question he knew trem- 
bled upon her lips. “ He said he wished he 
could give me a permanent engagement with a 
fair salary, but he will have a hard fight to keep 
his head above water. Colman’s failure affected 
him as well as me. There is the hardest outlook 
for honest workers I have ever seen.” 

“ Let us look on the bright side, husband, for 
there surely is a bright side. We are all well, 
and all ready to help each other.” 

“I know it, wife, and I am blessed in having 
such a family. But you deserve a better home 
than this.” 

“I am satisfied with my home, because I 
know it is the best we can afford. I learned 
economy when I was younger, and I have not 
forgotten my lessons. We shall have few ex- 
penses the coming summer, and before another 
winter there will be a turn in the tide of affairs. 
But what of Mr. Colman ? ” 

“ Hindman will provide for him, if any pro- 
vision is necessary. It is said that his wife 
holds property enough to keep them in comfort. 
She holds the house and furniture, and main- 
tains their old style of living. You know she 
and Mrs. Hindman are sisters. 

“ Yes ; and they are both ambitious women.” 


1 1 


A Box of a House. 

“Mrs. Hindman’s ambition for wealth and 
display is likely to be fully gratified. Her hus- 
band’s profits are immense, and he can enlarge 
his business at pleasure. He intends building a 
new brewery this season, with all the modern 
improvements.” 

“ And he is sure of selling all the beer he can 
manufacture.” 

“ Yes, every drop of it. It is said that he is 
the actual proprietor of at least twenty saloons, 
although his name does not appear in a single 
instance. He will be one of the richest men in 
the city, but I do not envy him his riches.” 

“Neither do I envy his wife the luxury and 
elegance such riches will buy. What he gains 
others must lose, and the profits of his business 
must bring a curse to him and his family.” 

“A runaway ! A runaway ! ” shouted Theron 
and Victor Chappelle ; and when their father 
reached the street door, a pair of spirited horses 
were dashing past, leaving behind them the 
wreck of a handsome carriage, from which they 
had just freed themselves. In the occupant of 
the carriage, who had been thrown violently to 
the ground, Mr. Chappelle recognized Mrs. 
Hindman, who, although much hurt, was able 
with his assistance to walk to the house, where 
she was cordially welcomed. 

Later came Mr. Hindman, profuse in his ex- 


12 


The Winning Side. 

pressions of gratitude for kindness shown to his 
wife, who had previously regarded Mrs. Chap- 
pelle’s social position with feelings of envy. To 
do her justice, it should be said she was now 
sincerely sorry for the change of fortune which 
had come to the family, whose superiority she 
could not fail to recognize. 

“I never dreamed of finding Chappelle in 
such a place,” remarked the brewer to Mr. Col- 
man that evening, when the accident was under 
consideration. “I knew he gave up his house 
and paid the last dollar of his debts, but I did 
not know he stripped himself so completely. 
You owed him a few thousands.” 

“ Yes : but he fared no worse than my other 
creditors. He need not have given up every- 
thing.” 

“I suppose not, but you would think it a 
hard case to come down to such close quarters 
as they are in. Mrs. Chappelle is too much of a 
lady for such surroundings. I don’t know 
though but she seemed all the more a lady, 
and she certainly treated Mrs. Hindman with 
the utmost courtesy. I should be glad to do 
Chappelle a favor. He must be an honorable 
man.” 

“He is, and his failure was not his fault ; un- 
less it was a fault to believe other men as honor- 
able as himself. The times have been against 


A Box of a House. 13 

him, and it will be hard for him to secure a pay- 
ing situation.” 

“ He would probably be particular in his 
choice of a situation.” 

“ Of course he would. For instance, he could 
not be hired to run a beer saloon at any price.” 

“He would be out of place in a beer saloon. 
There are men enough for such work. Money 
will buy almost any service from the average 
man. Money moves the world. I found that 
out before I was fifteen years old, and I made 
up my mind then that I would have money. I 
proposed to be on the winning side of life ; and 
so far I have held my position. I had regard 
for that when I chose my business ; beginning 
small and gradually enlarging.” 

“ The old German helped you.” 

“ Yes, and I have helped him in return. I am 
sure to see or hear from him the first of every 
month. That reminds me, however, that he is 
later than usual this month. Since his grand- 
daughter came to live with him, he has moved 
from the tenement house where I used to visit 
him. With the knowledge he possessed he 
ought to have made a fortune for himself, but 
in some way he Just missed it.” 

“And instead, made a fortune for you.” 

“That is not the way I put it. He was the 
possessor of a secret for which I paid a stipu- 


14 


The Winning Side. 

lated sum. It is not my fault that I am growing 
richer while he is poor. I gave him employ- 
ment as long as he could he trusted.” 

“ Yet you told me he had but one fault.” 

“ Only one which affected me, but that was so 
large that there was no room for another. He 
would drink more beer than any other man I 
ever knew.” 

“But, according to yotir creed, beer never 
hurts anybody, and Stagel says no better beer 
was ever brewed than yours.” 

“He is right, and I hope to live long enough 
to know that every working-man in the country 
has a mug of beer with his dinner. It is coming 
to that, too. There is more beer drank every 
year. At first, our people were prejudiced 
against it, but we are gaining on them.” 


CHAPTEE II. 


GRETCHEN STAGEL. 

“Mother, we have seen Gretchen,” exclaim- 
ed Theron Chappelle, as lie and his brother came 
in from school. “ She said she couldn’t breathe 
any longer in the place her grandfather had, 
and they have gone to live in that old red house 
on the mill-road.” 

“Yes, mother, and she says the folks are nice 
in the house ; all clean and good,” chimed in 
Victor. 

“ There is one don’t look very clean, and that 
is her grandfather. He had an old pipe in his 
mouth, and his face was just the color beer 
makes. We saw him coming to meet Gretchen, 
and he is a real old Dutchman, fat and waddly, 
but she loves him.” 

“ And I have no doubt he loves her.” 

“ Of course he does. Yon would know that 
just to hear him speak her name.” 

“Was Gretchen selling anything to-day? ” 

“Yes, mother, she was selling hot buns, and 
the boys took the last she had. Claude Hind- 

(15) 


1 6 The Winning Side. 

man told her to come round again ; she said 
she would, and went off, looking as happy as if 
she had found a fortune. We spoke to her, and 
she seemed real glad to see us, and we told her 
where we lived. She has grown almost pretty, 
mother.” 

When Gretchel Stagel was left alone in the 
old country, without father or mother, brother 
or sister, she was very glad to go to her grand- 
father, who sent money to pay her passage 
across the ocean. A neighbor saw her safely on 
board the steamer, where she made friends with 
all with whom she came in contact. 

There was a lady on board who was interested 
in the steerage passengers, and especially at- 
tracted by Gretchen’s good nature and general 
helpfulness. Many were the long talks they en- 
joyed together, each learning much from the 
other, and both profiting by the lessons thus 
learned. As one result of this acquaintance, 
Gretchen became a staunch advocate of total ab- 
stinence from the use of beer and tobacco, as 
well as from all distilled liquors. 

“It was the beer and tobacco kept us all so 
poor, and it is that I will fight,” she said in her 
broken speech, stamping her foot by way of em- 
phasis. 

Although glad to see her grandfather, whom 
she scarcely remembered, she was disappointed 


17 


Gretchen. Stagel. 

' in the home to which he took her. It consisted 
of two rooms in a house where lived many 
others. These rooms were by no means attract- 
ive ; the hallways leading to them were dark 
and dirty, while the air fairly i’eeked with foul 
odors. 

The old man excused his surroundings by 
saying that since his wife died there had been 
no one to make his rooms tidy, and he was too 
lonely to have much care for them. 

Gretchen, whose eyes were wide open, soon 
saw what was the trouble. The mug of beer and 
the pipe were the great enemies to thrift and 
cleanliness. A new supply of beer was brought 
in the first of every month, when fpr a few days 
there was no lack of comfortable food ; but as 
the month advanced, it was harder for her to 
provide for the table. 

She decided at last that she must earn some 
money, and seeing others selling fruit and small 
wares from house to house, she tried her for- 
tune in the same way. At first she had only a 
few cents to invest, and as she sold at small 
profits her gains were little ; but her honesty, 
cheerfulness, and modesty, won for her some 
generous patrons, and her experiment proved a 
success. 

True, she had her unfortunate days, and it 

was towards evening, when her basket was near- 
2 


1 8 The Winning Side. 

ly full, that she fell on the sidewalk near Mr. 
Chappelle’s house, scattering her goods in every 
direction. The boys hastened to her assistance, 
helping to gather up the contents of her basket, 
and then inviting her into the warm kitchen, 
where Mrs, Chappelle went herself to welcome 
the poor girl. 

For several weeks she was an occasional vis- 
itor, thankful for the patronage and encourag- 
ing words she was sure to receive ; but after the 
family moved, they quite lost sight of her, until 
the day she sold buns to the school boys. It 
was not long then before she appeared with her 
basket, bright and smiling as ever, yet ready to 
give her sympathy to the kind lady who had 
lost such a beautiful home. 

She had her own story to tell ; how she had 
planned and worked to draw her grandfather 
from his old haunts ; what dinners she prepared 
for him ; how* much she had saved from her 
small gains ; and how she proposed to earn more 
money when the weather should be warmer. 

“I have found out about the beer and the 
money coming every month, and it is a rich man 
sends it,” she said confidentially to Mrs. Chap- 
pelle. “ He brews the beer, and he is growing 
richer by making everybody who buys his beer, 
poorer. Grandfather says he can’t live without 
it, but it is not long he can live with it, and 


19 


Gretchen Stagel. 

when he is gone, I shall be alone. I have watch- 
ed every day, but the beer came when I was 
gone, and it is just drinking all the time, is 
grandfather. I am ready to — to — ^give up.” 

This last was said hesitatingly, for Glretchen 
had not learned to express herself with ease in 
the new language, which seemed to her most 
strange when she had most to say. 

“ Whatever can I do?” she asked at length. 
“Will I ask the brewer to send no more beer % 
Then my grandfather will be angry with me, 
but there will be less beer for him to drink. He 
has not much money. I will not give him mon- 
ey to buy beer.” 

To this decision she adhered resolutely, de- 
spite entreaties, tears, and angry words ; yet 
old August Stagel found means to gratify his 
appetite. When the monthly supply of beer 
was exhausted, he procured it from some low 
saloon, where he sustained his reputation as the 
champion drinker. 

Meanwhile he grew cross and stupid, lame, 
and sometimes almost helpless ; making Gretch- 
en’ s life a burden. There were days when she 
seemed to have some influence over him, but 
these days came at longer intervals, until they 
ceased almost entirely. She was obliged to 
work hard and practice the most rigid economy ; 
mending and darning her own and her grand- 


20 The Winning Side. 

father’s clothing, until she was ashamed of their 
shabbiness. 

At length she ventured upon new territory, 
hoping to secure new patrons and increase her 
gains. Here, much to her surprise, she found 
her grandfather seated upon a stone step, gazing 
stupidly at a large brick building, and mutter- 
ing words quite unintelligible to her. She 
spoke to him, but he gave her no answer. 

“What is that house?” she asked a drayman, 
who stopped his horses to reply to her. 

“Hindman’s Brewery, and the old man work- 
ed there till he drank more beer than he was 
worth. Draws his rations, though, and has a 
right to them, too, according to my way of 
thinking.” 

“Oh dear, whatever will I do!” exclaimed 
Grretchen, as she had exclaimed so many times 
before ; and then she hurried forward to address 
the drayman again. 

“He is my grandfather, and I have nobody 
else. Who sends him the beer ? Who will I go 
to to have it stopped ? ” 

“Well, lass, I’m thinking you’ll need to go 
to headquarters, where you’ll find Mr. Hind- 
man himself, or another in his place.” 

The man then directed her to the office, which 
she entered trembling, scarce raising her eyes 
from the floor. 


21 


Gretchen Stagel, 

• 

“Please don’t send my grandfather any more 
beer,” she said, in a scarcely audible tone. 

“Who is your grandfather?” was asked 
quicldy. 

“August Stagel,” she answered. 

“Oh\ our old pensioner. Why, he lives on 
beer. He says he should die without it.” 

“Dying is better than living in some ways. 
Please don’t send him any more beer.” 

“I don’t know about that. He thinks I owe 
it to him.” 

“Better never pay. I can take care of him 
without the beer, but we will starve with it. 
Whatever will I do if you keep on ?” 

“Your grandfather has been here, not long 
ago, begging for beer.” 

“ And did yon give it to him ? ” 

“ Certainly, I could not refuse him.” 

“Then you won’t help me, and I don’t know 
whatever I will do.” 

The utter hopelessness of this cry touched 
Mr. Hindman’s heart, and as the girl turned to 
leave the office, he asked : 

“ What have you in your basket ? ” 

“Not much,” she answered sadly. “I had 
but little money to spend this morning.” 

“Let me see the contents of your basket. I 
may like to purchase.” 

Her first impulse was to move on, but her ne- 


22 


The Winning Side. 

cessities were great. The rent of her rooms 
would be due in two days, and she was hardly 
sure of supper and breakfast. She carried fruit 
that day, and Mr. Hindman purchased her en- 
tire stock ; paying her so liberally that she 
could not but be grateful, even if failing to ob- 
tain the promise she desired. 

“ I really pitied her,” said the brewer to his 
brother-in-law, Mr. Colman, who was present at 
the interview. “ She is a tidy -looking girl, and 
it is hard for her to be tied to such an old toper 
as Stagel. But he will die off before long, and 
then she will be rid of him.” 

“ She would prefer being rid of the beer.” 

“She cannot be rid of that, so long as her 
grandfather lives. He will have it in some way, 
and if I furnish it, he is so much better off than 
he would be to spend money for it. It is an act 
of positive charity on my part.” 

“Queer charity, but it is none of my business. 
It is each for himself, and he who loses in the 
race must bear the penalty. The trouble is that 
one cannot bear it alone.” 

“ And he who wins must share his spoils as 
well. So far I win.” 

“ That reminds me of Chappelle. I saw him 
this morning, and when I asked how he pros- 
pered, he said he had made no permanent ar- 
rangement for business, although he was usually 


23 


Gretchen Stagel. 

busy. It seems that he once studied law, and 
was nearly ready for his examination, when his 
health failed under the confinement, and he was 
obliged to turn to more active business. It 
would not be strange, now, if he should finish his 
studies, and come out a full-fledged lawyer.” 

“He is said to be a fine scholar, and his per- 
sonal appearance would be greatly in his favor 
as a public speaker. He addressed a temper- 
ance meeting a few evenings ago, and made a 
speech which brought down the house.” 

“ Is that his cue ? I thought he was a sensi- 
ble man.” 

“He is, even if he does not agree with us on 
the liquor question. He will make an able law- 
yer, and a strong man for his party, whichever 
that is.” 

“He will be on the losing side if he tries fight- 
ing the beer and liquor interest. I can tell him 
that, without going to college or studying law. 
The fanatics who flatter themselves they can put 
us down, understand very little what they are 
undertaking. Let a man once get a taste for 
beer or stronger liquors, and, given a chance to 
gratify that taste, he is not easily persuaded to 
total abstinence. That makes the demand for 
which there will be a supply ; and like many 
other things, the rule works both ways ; the 
supply often creates the demand. That is one 


24 


The^ Winning Side. 

of our strongholds, in spite of all temperance 
talk and temperance talkers ; and if evil comes 
of it, let the responsibility rest where it belongs. 
I wash my hands of it.” 

“You profess to consider beer a healthful 
drink % ” 

“ I do ; but there is a limit to healthy drink- 
ing, even of water. Look here, Colman, are you 
quarrelling with your bread and butter so soon ? 
You know what my business is, and if you 
don’ t want to identify yourself with it, now is 
the time for you to say so.” 

“I know all about it. I have engaged to work 
for you for a stipulated salary, and I shall do 
my duty ; but I cannot promise to think your 
thoughts instead of my own.” 

“ Keep your thoughts to yourself, and there 
will be no trouble. I am carrying on my busi- 
ness for the express and only purpose of making 
money ; and money is what you need, Colman.” 

Mr. Colman was too wise to express the indig- 
nation he felt at this remark. He knew that his 
brother-in-law would expect a full return for the 
salary he was to receive, yet before their inter- 
view closed, he realized this fact as never before. 

Not a saloon-keeper. He would not have 
stooped to that, but he was to have the general 
oversight of twenty beer saloons, in the city and 
its immediate vicinity. 


25 


Gretchen Stagel. 

“Slocum will act as your agent, and report to 
you instead of me. He knows every rope, and 
you can trust Mm,” said Mr. Hindman, after 
some further conversation. “Manage to suit 
yourself, and I shall find no fault, so long as I 
receive a fair profit. You know what I consider 
a fair profit. If you increase the business, you 
will increase your salary. 

“You will report; ,to me every quarter, and 
keep your eyes and ears wide open for anything 
which threatens our common interests. You 
must look sharp after all political meetings, and 
be sure of the record of every aspirant for office. 
Every such aspirant must understand that his 
success or failure depends upon the will of lib- 
erty-loving men. We believe in the largest lib- 
erty of the largest number.” 

Mr. Hindman could express himself in well- 
chosen words, and in most gentlemanly manner ; 
yet those who knew him best knew he would 
move straight on to the accomplishment of his 
purpose, without regard for others whose fate 
might be involved. 


CHAPTER III. 


AN ACCOUNT CLOSED. 

Dead! Old August Stagel was dead. “Died 
suddenly, of heart disease.” 

So his death was reported in the daily papers ; 
but not so was it reported by “Slocum,” who, 
in making his daily rounds, reached the saloon 
where the old man died, in the midst of the ex- 
citement caused by the sad event. 

“It was beer that killed him,” said the brew- 
er’s agent. “There is no doubt of it,” was 
added with unwonted emphasis. “He had been 
drinking heavily, when some rough fellows 
offered to pay for all he would drink, and he 
drank till he died.” 

“That ought not to have been allowed,” re- 
sponded Mr. Hindman. “Such things give a 
saloon a bad name, and there are plenty on the 
lookout for a chance to find fault. If it happens 
again I shall hold you responsible. As for old 
Stagel, he might as well be out of the way. He 
was of no use in the world. I suppose he had 

a home somewhere.” 

( 26 ) 


An Account Closed. 


27 


“ Yes : but Ms granddaughter, who provided 
for the home, has not money to pay his funeral 
expenses.” 

“ He must be buried. See to it, and bring me 
the bill.” 

“Yes, sir,” replied ‘ Slocum,’ who understood 
that Mr. Hindman wished to hear no more upon 
the subject, and governed himself accordingly. 

“Let Hindman pay the bill,” said Tom Lol- 
lard, the drayman who had directed Grretchen to 
the brewer’s office, and who knew the result of 
her visit. “We will take up a contribution 
among ourselves to help the poor girl, and I 
hope she will fare better without her grand- 
father than she has with him. Hindman is 
making money hand over fist with his beer, and 
little does he care what becomes of them who 
work for him.” 

“He pays fair wages, and makes us free of 
the beer,” was replied by another employe of 
the brewery, whose bloated face attested to his 
love for the drink freely furnished. 

“We might be better off without the beer. 
Heard what the doctor says about Hammel? 
Says his blood aint good for anything, so he is 
likely to die with the hurt he got last week.” 

“Blood bad? His blood was good enough. 
Not a stronger, healthier looking man among us. 
What is the matter with his blood, anyway ?” 


28 


The Winning Side. 

“Beer,” replied Tom Lollard. “That is what 
the doctor says, and I more than half believe 
it ; but that aint what interests me most just 
now. I want to get some money for old Stagel’s 
granddaughter. I will give a dollar.” 

“I will give another. We aint any too well 
off at home, but I guess we can spare a dollar, 
and not miss it.” 

“ If you do, save it on tobacco. There is a big 
chance for us both on that and some other 
things. I’m beginning to think it is time for me 
to turn over a new leaf.” 

“ What is the matter with you ? Has any- 
thing struck you ?” 

“ Yes ; I have been struck pretty hard. The 
fact is, my boy is studying a catechism on beer, 
and he wants me to hear him say his lesson, so 
to be sure he is right.” 

“ Where did he get the catechism ?” 

“His Sunday-school teacher gave it to him. 
She has her class come to her house once a 
month for a little treat, and they recite the cate- 
chism then.” 

“ I wouldn’t have any such nonsense going on 
with my chOdren. What do you have your boy 
learning such stuff for 1 ” 

“ Because he wants to learn it, and I want to 
have him. It will do him good. I wish you 
could hear him recite his catechism lesson.” 


An Account Closed. 


29 


“I’ve heard all I want to about it, and I can 
tell yon one thing ; if your boy knows that yon 
drink beer, it will count for more with him than 
all the catechisms that were ever made. I ex- 
pect my boys to drink beer, but I aint going to 
worry about it. They must take their chances.” 

Meanwhile, poor Gretchen Stagel was over- 
whelmed with grief. She knew not what to do, 
but Mr. Chappelle, who heard of her bereave- 
ment, hastened to give his assistance. At the 
same time came Mr. Slocum, offering, as Mr. 
Hindman’s representative, to meet all necessary 
expenses, and gladly leaving all arrangements to 
be made by Mr. Chappelle. 

The clergyman who preached in the little 
chapel, where Gretchen went every Sunday to 
hear the ‘ good words’ which helped her through 
the week, attended the funeral. He read some 
passages of Scripture, made a few remarks, cal- 
culated to touch the hearts of those who listen- 
ed, and offered a short prayer. 

A carriage had been provided for the lonely 
mourner, who, accompanied by a kind neighbor, 
followed the hearse to the last resting-place of 
her grandfather. Then back to her home, where 
she looked around as if in a dream. 

There would be' no more anxiety for one 
whom she loved, yet could not trust ; no more 
waiting for footsteps she longed yet dreaded to 


30 


The Winning Sid6. 

hear. Young as she was, there was much of life 
behind her. Of the future, she only knew that 
she would remain where she was, and seek to do 
some good to those among whom her lot had 
been cast. 

When the money contributed for her benefit 
was brought to her, she found it impossible to 
express her thanks. Tears and sobs, she could 
not repress, choked her voice ; but Tom Lollard 
understood it all, and bade her count on him as 
a friend. 

Mr. Hindman paid the bills presented by his 
agent, and wished to be regarded as a generous 
man for so doing. He was glad to be through 
with August Stagel. It would be a relief to be 
no longer reminded of the existence of the old 
man, who had contributed so largely to his ma- 
terial prosperity. 

“ That account is closed,” he said, in a tone of 
self-gratulation. 

“ There are always ghosts and shadows to re- 
mind us of what has been,” replied he whom 
the brewer addressed as “ Slocum,” always 
without the prefix Mr. 

“Ghosts and shadows are not for me,” was 
responded sharply, and the brewer gave a quick, 
searching glance at the face of his companion. 

There he saw a new expression which both an- 
gered and annoyed him. He thought he held this 


An Account Closed. 


31 


man securely, but in some way he was now con- 
scious that his hold was loosening. He had not 
cared for respect, if only his bidding was done 
faithfully and unquestioningly. To lose such 
obedience would be to lose much ; but he could 
only await further developments. 

Not long after this, a strike occurred in 
a large manufacturing establishment, and all 
places of ordinary resort were thronged with 
idle men. Money was paid freely for beer and 
stronger drinks. There was a large increase of 
sales in all the twenty saloons owned by Mr. 
Hindman, and a consequent increase of profits. 

But with this came the attendant evils. Men 
were easily excited. Opinions differed. High 
words sometimes led to hard blows, when the 
police were called to quiet the tumult. As this 
state of affairs was known to the general public, 
it tended to bring the saloons into disrepute. 

Mr, Colman was summoned to a conference 
with his brother-in-law, who said at once : 

“You must see to it that my saloons are not 
made obnoxious to law-abiding citizens. Even 
if I am not known as having an interest in them, 
I must be considered in the matter. It is my 
intention to give respectability to the brewing 
and sale of beer. Give Slocum stricter orders, 
and see that he obeys them.” 

“I have talked with him, and he is doing his 


32 The Winning Side. 

best ; but he cannot be in twenty places at the 
same time. If beer is sold, the consequences 
must be borne.” 

“Beer is to be sold; there is no question 
about that, If yon cannot manage Slocum, send 
bim to me. I think he will find a way to do 
what is required of him.” 

“ I will send him to you,” answered Mr. Col- 
man, who was thoroughly tired of his position, 
and retained it only because he could in no 
other way support the style of living to which 
he was accustomed. It was understood that Mr. 
Hindman paid him a large salary, and also that 
he would soon have a share in the business. 
How much of this was true he did not care to 
say, and few would presume to ask him any 
questions. 

Mr. Slocum was in a defiant mood as he enter- 
ed the brewer’s ofiice that day, and the greeting 
he received intensified this mood. 

“ I am displeased with you. You have failed 
to do your duty, and unless you improve, I 
shall look for some one else to take your place.” 

“ In what have I failed, sir ? ” 

“ In managing the saloons. There must be 
nothing like disturbance in them. Nothing will 
kill the business sooner than calling in the po- 
lice. Some are trying to make capital of old Sta- 
gel’s death, and the papers in the country that 


An Account Closed. 33 

oppose us, are always on tlie watch for anything 
that will furnish them a sensational article.” 

“They are rewarded for watching, Mr. Hind- 
man ; although the half is never known, outside 
the saloons and dens, where tragedies are con- 
stantly occurring.” 

“Tragedies! What are you talking about? 
What has got into you ? ” 

“Not beer or whiskey. I saw, this morning, 
what will make me forever hate the very 
thought of beer. Two little girls, half-dressed, 
and looking half -starved, came into one of your 
saloons, with a battered tin paU to be filled with 
beer. There was money in the pail, so of course 
they got the beer. I was so much interested in 
these children, that I watched to see where they 
went. Not far from the saloon is a dark alley, 
where a woman waited for them ; and seizing 
the pail, she put it to her lips and drank every 
drop it contaiaed.” 

“ What of it? ” exclaimed Mr. Hindman, who 
would have interrupted the recital of this inci- 
dent, had the speaker given him an opportunity 
to do so. “ What have you or I to do about it ? 
We are not responsible for that woman’s con- 
duct. Nobody was responsible for selling her 
beer, when she needed to buy bread. She did as 
she pleased ; no one compelled her to buy beer. 

Where did she get it ? ” 

3 


34 


The Winning Side. 

“In the Water Street saloon, the best paying 
saloon yon have. There is no style about it, but 
there is a steady stream of customers from early 
in the morning until late at night.” 

“There was a row there, day before yesterday, 
when somebody got hurt.” 

“Yes, sir ; some one came near being killed.” 

“There is no excuse for anything of that 
kind. If men want to fight, it is none of my 
business, but they must do it somewhere be- 
sides on my premises. Another thing ; I expect 
men to whom I am paying wages, will work for 
my interests. You understand that ? ” 

“Perfectly, sir.” 

“ Then you will attend to this matter at once. 
If the Water Street saloon is badly managed, 
put somebody else in charge of it. I don’t want 
a ruffian there. Find a good, respectable man, 
who can be trusted, to go in there.” 

“ It is a hard place to fill, Mr. Hindman. The 
man who would meet your requirements would 
not go there. But I will have my eye on that 
saloon, and see you again to-morrow.” 

“ Report to Mr. Colman. I have more impor- 
tant business to attend to. One thing more, 
however; if you are getting fanatical on the 
beer question, we had better settle up. I will 
have no traitors in the camp. I am working for 


An Account Closed. • 35 

myself, and make no pretensions to disinterest- 
ed benevolence.” 

“That is generally understood, Mr. Hindman. 
There can be no mistaking your purpose.” 

“ What is coming next ? ” ejaculated this gen- 
tleman, when left alone; adding mentally: “I 
must remind Slocum of the sword hanging over 
his head. I can never hope to make his place 
good, if he should leave me, but I will have no 
insolence from him. He needs to remember.” 

Time was when Mr. Slocum had indulged in 
the use of beer and other stimulating drinks, but 
that time had passed. Time was, too, when he 
thought his life irretrievably ruined ; but that 
time had also passed ; and growing morally 
stronger, with each succeeding day, he was los- 
ing his fear of the man who had held him so 
long in bondage. 

He went to the Water Stre.et saloon, remain- 
ing there for an hour, and returning again in 
the evening, when he was confronted with such 
wretchedness that his very soul grew sick at the 
sight. 

The saloon was on the lower floor ot a large 
tenement house, the house owned by Mr. Hind- 
man ; so that, with the payment of a heavy rent, 
and the patronage of the saloon, the poor ten- 
ants had sm^l means for the purchase of food 
and clothing. 


36 • . The Winning Side. 

But for none of these things cared proprietor 
or landlord. He was intent only upon acquiring 
wealth, and providing for his family the luxu- 
ries and elegancies wealth will command. 

Hundreds might suffer under that very roof ; 
coming to its shelter poor and miserable, and 
leaving it still more wretched. It mattered not 
to the grasping brewer. So long as he was on 
the winning side, others might be lost forever, 
without sign of regret from him. 


CHAPTER IV. 


ARNOT SLOCUM. 

From the Water Street saloon, Mr. Slocum 
went to his room, an upper chamber in an old 
but respectable house, where he lived quite by 
himself. The night was chilly, yet there was no 
fire in the grate, while a lamp, burning dimly, 
only served to intensify the gloom of his sur- 
roundings. Of this, however, he seemed utterly 
unconscious. 

From a small iron-bound trunk, he took a 
Bible, a pocket-book, and a package of papers. 
The papers were carefully examined, the money 
contained in the pocket-book, counted, and then 
the Bible was opened. 

“Mother! Mother!” he murmured, as he 
read the name of her who had given him this 
blessed book, praying him to heed its counsels. 

Many passages had been marked expressly for 
him ; passages he now read with strangely con- 
flicting emotions. It was flve years since he had 
Opened this Bible before ; flve years since he 
had listened to a sermon or a prayer ; flve years, 

( 37 ) 


38 


The Winning Side. 

in which he seemed to have been dreaming a 
continuous, terrible dream. 

The night was spent in reading Grod’s promi- 
ses to repentant sinners, and supplicating the 
Divine mercy ; and when morning dawned, he 
was ready for whatever the new day might bring 
to him. 

Early that morning, Mr. Chappelle received a 
call from a gentleman desiring to see him on pri- 
vate business. An interview was granted, and a 
story was told at which the listener wondered. 
It was a story of crime and its consequences, 
with the criminal undetected. 

“I have told you all,” at length said Mr. 
Slocum, for he it was who had entrusted his se- 
cret to Mr. Chappelle. “I do not claim that 
there was any excuse for my dishonesty, but I 
assure you again that I fully intended to refund 
the money, and should have done so, had not 
circumstances been entirely against me. I wish- 
ed to help a friend who appealed to me to save 
him from ruin, and under the temptation I took 
money belonging to another. I have known for 
several months, that the man I defrauded was a 
relative of yours, and I resolved to come to you 
as soon as I had saved a sum large enough to 
pay my indebtedness, allowing for a high rate 
of interest for the time since the money was 
taken. 


Arnot Slocum. 


39 

“ But wliat of your friend, Mr. Slocum? Did 
he repay you ? ” 

“No, sir ; he deceived me cruelly, although 
he did not know what his deceit cost me. He is 
an outcast from society, and a confirmed drunk- 
ard, without home or friends. I wonder he has 
not starved, his poverty is so great ; but I saw 
him yesterday, when he begged me with tears in 
his eyes, to give him a dime. I gave him instead 
a ticket for a square meal, which I hope he did 
not exchange for whiskey. I knew I could 
trust you, Mr. Chappelle, and for that reason, I 
determined to ask you to act for me in this mat- 
ter. I wish to give the money into your hands 
to be paid to your cousin as soon as may be, and 
I am also ready to pay you whatever you wish, 
as compensation for your trouble. I shall be 
very grateful, too, for your kindness.” 

“ I accept your trust, Mr. Slocum, and will at- 
tend to the business at once. If I should find 
ray cousin at home, it can all be done to-day. 
If you will call this evening, I will report my 
success.” 

Until the money was paid, and a receipt given 
for the same, Mr. Slocum maintained a calm de- 
meanor ; but then his calmness gave way, and 
he sobbed convulsively. Soon, however, he con- 
trolled himself, and said firmly : 

“ I am ready to suffer whatever penalty may 


40 


The Winning Side. 

be inflicted upon me. In case of my imprison 
ment, I may ask further favors of you, for wMck 
I will make you suck return as money can 
make. If at liberty, I will see you this evening. 
Before then, I shall probably be denounced as 
a thief.” 

“ Prevent that, if possible, Mr. Slocum. Gain 
time with Mr. Hindman, and in the end he may 
find it for his interest to keep silence alto- 
gether.” 

“I could retaliate, did I choose to do so. I 
have been his confidential agent, and there are 
usually some crooked transactions connected 
with the sale of all alcoholic drinks, of which 
beer is one. Beer is the curse of working men 
who have no pleasant homes.” 

“The money they spend for beer is what is 
needed to make their homes pleasant.” 

“That is true, and one who has not been be- 
hind the scenes can hardly realize to what ex- 
tent working men, as they are called, patronize 
beer saloons. One glass makes way for another ; 
more surely, perhaps, than of any other liquor.” 

The interview closed, and Mr. Chappelle made 
ready to visit the friend, who, five years before, 
had missed a sum of money, for the loss of 
which he could not account. 

“Arnot Slocum dishonest!” exclaimed this 
gentleman, upon the mystery having been solved. 


Arnot Slocum. 


41 


“ I would not have believed it, except upon his 
ow'n confession. I would have trusted him any- 
where, and I am sure that he never intended to 
wrong me. I understand it all,” was added, 
after a short silence. “ Prentiss Wetherbee got 
into trouble about that time, and I remember of 
hearing that Slocum furnished him with ftinds ; 
but I never thought of associating that fact with 
my loss.” 

“They were probably connected.” 

“ They must have been, and other events were 
probably connected. It was understood that 
Slocum was engaged to Wetherbee’ s sister ; but 
for some reason the affair was broken off, and 
not long after. Miss Wetherbee went West. 
Since then I have lost sight of Slocum.” 

“ I judge he was quite willing his old friends 
should lose sight of him. Now he is most anx- 
ious to make reparation for his crime, so far as 
money is concerned ; and that done, he says he 
is willing to suffer whatever punishment the law 
may inflict.” 

“The law will have nothing to do with it. 
The matter is between us, and so far as I am 
concerned, it will remain there.” 

A long conversation followed, in which Mr. 
Butler expressed the utmost confldence in Arnot 
Slocum. At first he refused to accept so high a 


42 


The Winning Side. 

rate of interest as had been sent ; bnt in this, 
Mr. Chappelle overruled him. 

“ Tell Slocum he has nothing to fear from 
me,” said the gentleman. “lam very sorry for 
him, for I think I know him well enough to 
understand something of what he has suffered. 
He need not fear Hindman, either. That man’s 
mouth can be easily closed. I knew him when 
he first commenced his career, and if occasion 
demands, 1 am ready to use that knowledge to 
his disadvantage. I will give you the facts, and 
you will then have him in your power. 

“He made his start in business by selling beer 
for which he never paid. That I know, and it is 
not the only dishonest transaction which can be 
proved against him. He is gaining wealth, and 
to the world he seems prosperous, but for such 
as he there is coming a day of retribution. He 
will be likely to fail in some of his projects.” 

“I presume he considers failure impossible to 
him. His business is not affected by hard times.” 

“That is universally conceded. The brewers 
of the country are fast acquiring wealth, and if 
allowed to continue their business, I see no rea- 
son why they will not be among the wealthiest 
men among us. The liquor interest, both dis- 
tilled and fermented, is a great monopoly, by 
which it can be truly said that the rich grow 
richer, and the poor poorer.” 


Arnot Slocum. 


43 


“Poor, too, in the very worst sense of that 
word, and cursing generations to come with a 
poverty often more abject than their own. That 
is the horror of it all. Children are born into 
the world under conditions which make it al- 
most morally certain that they will march stead- 
ily down to ruin.” 

“That is the horror of it, indeed, and if I ever 
presumed to question the justice of Providence, 
I should question it whenever confronted with 
the fact that the sins of the fathers are visited 
upon the children. Mr. Hindman will do well 
to remember that.” 

“ Perhaps he has never heard it, but he has 
two children whose lives may prove it. He has a 
son and a daughter. The daughter is in school 
with Constance, and the son attends the same 
public school as my boys. They are bright 
scholars, but quite conscious of their father’s 
wealth.” 

“ That is the trouble with children of wealthy 
men. They are too often vain and haughty, 
besides being downright lazy. That is a homely 
adjective, but it expresses my meaning better 
than any other. Such children miss the practi- 
cal lessons taught by the necessity of making 
the most of what comes to them.” 

“ My boys are not likely to miss such lessons, 


44 


The Winning Side. 

and in that way my present misiortnne may 
prove a future blessing.” 

“We cannot always judge what may prove a 
blessing. But to return to Arnot Slocum. Is he 
a teetotaller % ” 

“ I think he is. He told me that at one time 
he drank beer moderately, but that for two 
years he had not tasted it. I judge that he has 
lived very frugally. Of course beer would cost 
him nothing, and he said he drank it in place of 
tea or coffee.” 

“ If he is the man I think him to be, I shall 
be glad to give him employment. I know his 
ability, and I am willing to trust his honesty. 
If he will come here, I will do what I can for 
him.” 

Little did Arnot Slocum dream of the good 
fortune in store for him, as he made his rounds 
for the last time; lingering longest in Water 
Street, where he talked earnestly with the sa- 
loon keeper, whom he had seen gradually de- 
teriorating in character, under the influence of a 
business ruinous alike to proprietor and patron. 

He wished the hours away until evening, and 
then would fain have prolonged them. He had 
thought himself prepared for the worst, but as 
he rang the bell at Mr. Chappelle’s door, his 
face grew ashy pale, while his voice trembled 
with emotion. The cheerful welcome he received 


Arnot Slocum. 


45 


somewhat reassured him, and when in the fewest 
possible words, he was informed of the magna- 
nimity to be shown him, he felt like one re- 
prieved from death. 

“I cannot express my gratitude for what you 
have done for me,” he said, after making such 
return in money as would be accepted. “ I will 
see Mr. Butler as soon as I can, and if he wiil 
trust me to serve him in any capacity, he shall 
have no reason to complain of my unfaithful- 
ness. I have so much for which to be thankful, 
I know not what to say.” 

“Thank Grod for His preserving care, Mr. 
Slocum.” 

“ I do, I do. I have not been a praying man, 
but I had a praying mother, and the future will 
be different to me from what the past has been.” 

Some words of encouragement were spoken, 
some advice given ; and then with mutual good 
wishes, the two gentlemen parted. That night 
Mr. Slocum slept soundly, and the next morning 
went to Mr. Hindman, and resigned his position. 

“Have you counted the cost?” asked the 
brewer. “ I shall feel it incumbent upon me to 
let your true character be known, and then no 
one else will hire you.” 

“ I am ready to accept the consequences,” was 
replied seriously. “ I counted the cost a long 
time ago, and think I have sufficient to pay it.” 


46 


The Winning Side. 

“You cannot have saved a great deal from 
your salary. How are you going to live if you 
leave me? ” 

“ I shall earn my living honestly. As for sav- 
ing from my salary, I could not have done it and 
indulge in many luxuries ; but I have saved 
enough to repay Mr. Butler, and I have his re- 
ceipt in full for all indebtedness.” 

“Receipt! Indebtedness! Mr. Butler! Where 
have you seen him ?” ejaculated Mr. Hindman 

“I have not seen him. I employed Mr. Chap- 
pelle to act for me, and he saw Mr. Butler yes- 
terday. Everything is settled, and I am a free 
man once more.” 

“Does Mr. Chappelle know all the circum- 
stances?” 

“ He knows more of them than you do, Mr. 
Hindman. I did not send him to Mr. Butler 
without telling him all it was necessary for him 
to know, and now if you choose to denounce me 
you are at liberty to do so.” 

“You would not like to be branded as a 
thief.” 

“ Don’t speak that word, sir. If you should, 
I might be tempted to tell what I know of your 
connection with the Willet affair.” 

“ That would be most dishonorable, Mr. Slo- 
cum. Not that I admit there was anything 
wrong. Nothing could be proved against me in 


Arnot Slocum. 


47 


a court of justice ; but while in my employ, you 
have no right to divulge anything in the way of 
business which might injure me. You are 
bound to work for my interest.” 

“ But I am not now in your employ, Mr. Hind- 
man. I shall not visit your saloons again, un- 
less I go there to save some poor fellow from 
danger. All who patronize them are in danger.” 

“That is their lookout, not mine. But, Mr. 
Slocum, let bygones be bygones. I will make it 
worth your while to remain with me. I will 
double your salary, and if that is not enough, I 
will add even to that.” 

“Ten times that would not tempt me, Mr. 
Hindman. I have done with beer forever. I 
hate it, and I would starve in the street before I 
would be accessory to its sale. Your saloons 
are doing a terrible work, and for every dollar 
which comes to you, the world is cheated of so 
much.” 

Having said this, Mr. Slocum bowed himself 
from the office, and an hour later, when Mr. Col- 
man entered, his brother-in-law was still sitting 
motionless at the desk, pen in hand. 

“I don’t see but you’ll have to run the saloons 
alone till I can find some one to help you,” re- 
marked the brewer, without heeding the morn- 
ing greeting received. 

“ What do you mean by that ? I shall not do 


48 The Winning Side. 

Slocums work. Wkat has become of him?” 

“ He has gone ; resigned his place this morn- 
ing, and taken himself off.” 

“ But I thought you could hold him. At any 
rate I understood yon to say that.” 

“I find I was mistaken. It is all over, and I 
have no wish to speak of it again.” 

“ But money would keep him. Another man 
cannot do what he could. Offer him a big sal- 
ary. You can afford it.” 

“You don’t know what you are talking about. 
Slocum is gone, and I must do without him. 
The thing now to be considered is, how shall I 
do?” 

“The next best thing — but it is of no use to 
talk of my taking his place. I cannot do it. I 
have not been inside one of the saloons, and ex- 
cept for the account of sales, in which their loca- 
tion is designated, I don’t know where they are. 
I know just how much I am indebted to you, 
and I shall be glad to earn my bread and butter, 
as you are pleased to term my necessities, with 
you, but there are certain things I cannot do.” 


CHAPTER V. 


OLD TOM AND YOUNG TOM. 

It was a warm day in the early spring, but 
there was a fire in the stove near which sat an 
aged woman and a crippled boy. One occupied 
an old-fashioned rocker, the other was seated in 
a chair made expressly for him. The boy was 
busy with engraving tools, pausing now and 
then to speak to his grandmother, who regarded 
him with looks of the most tender affection. 

A rap on the door, answered by “ Come in, 
please,” and Mr. Slocum entered the room. 

“ I was thinking of you,” said the boy, whose 
name was Wirt Halland. “ It seems to me I am 
always thinking of you when you come,” he 
added, as his friend grasped his hand. 

Mrs. Halland smiled, quite willing to wait for 
the kind greeting she was sure to receive. She, 
too, had been thinking of this man, who for 
more than a year had helped them to live. He 
had given them material assistance, and better 
than this, he had given them the sympathy 
which was more to them than the food they 

had sometimes lacked. 

4 


(49) 


50 The Winning Side. 

The boy’s mother was dead, and his father 
was serving a sentence for a crime committed 
while in a state of intoxication. Mr. Slocum 
had known the father as a frequenter of the 
Water Street saloon; a rollicking fellow, who 
could sing a song or tell a story sure to delight 
such an audience as would gather around him. 
But he was easily excited, and having reached a 
certain point, a slight provocation made him 
wild with anger. 

From drinking beer in such quantities as to 
render him an unreliable workman, he became a 
confirmed whiskey drinker, and this sealed his 
fate. Arrested, tried, and found guilty, he was 
sentenced to the House of Correction for two 
years, leaving his mother and son without means 
of support. 

Knowing their circumstances, Mr. Slocum was 
moved with pity for them, and although it made 
a heavy draft upon the amount reserved from 
his salary for his own personal use, he had aided 
them generously. 

It was through his influence that Mrs. Hal- 
land had obtained such work as she cotild do ; 
a coarse kind of knitting, for which there was a 
constant demand ; so that although the compen- 
sation was small, her earnings purchased many 
comforts. Then, too, Wirt could knit, and in 
this way add to their scanty income. 


51 


Old Tom and Young Tom. 

But he was learning to do other work. He 
seemed to have a talent for designing and en- 
graving ; and Mr. Slocum, who was acquainted 
with a skilled engraver, made arrangements for 
him to receive instruction in the art. 

His teacher was a German, with all a Ger- 
man’s fondness for the national drink ; spend- 
ing his earnings for beer, until often compelled 
to dress shabbily, and live upon the plainest 
food ; yet always ready to help another in dis- 
tress. He was glad to be of service to Wirt Hal- 
land, whose helplessness appealed to his best 
feelings, and whose cheerful patience soon won 
his loving regard. 

“Mr. Volsen told me yesterday that I am sure 
to make a good workman ; and then I think I 
shall be the very happiest of anybody in the 
whole world,” said the boy, after they had talk- 
ed for a few minutes. “I can earn lots of mon- 
ey, and keep grandmother like a lady.” 

Wirt Halland never spoke of his father in his 
grandmother’s presence, yet, when alone with 
Mr. Slocum, he often talked of the time when 
the weary term of imprisonment would end. A 
neighbor’s call for assistance now gave him the 
opportunity he desired, and he asked quickly ; 

“ Have you seen father?” 

“ I saw him yesterday for a few minutes. He 
is well, and obeying all the rules.” 


52 


The Winning Side. 

“And do yon think he will keep his pledge 
when he comes out % ” 

“ I think he will.” 

“ Oh, if he only will ! I dreamed about him 
last night. I dream about him almost every 
night, and he is so good I can’t help crying 
when I wake up and find it is only a dream.” 

“ I trust your dreams will come true.” 

“Grandmother and I are praying to have 
them, and we are praying for you too.” 

“ I need your prayers, Wirt, but I am going 
away. I shall never have anything more to do 
with beer saloons.” 

“ I am so glad. Grandmother says you are 
too good a man for that. But what shall we do 
without you ? If we could get money enough so 
we could move, I meant to ask you if you 
didn’t know of some other place where we could 
live, where there wouldn’t be any saloon so 
near.” 

“ I have been thinking about that, and I will 
try to find a better place for you. I must not 
stop longer now, but I will see you again soon.” 

Mr. Slocum had thought of Gretchen Stagel as 
a desirable friend for Mrs. Halland and her 
grandson, and wished they might in some way 
be brought together. If there were rooms 
which could be rented in the house where 
Gretchen lived, it would be the very place for 


53 


Old Tom and Young Tom. 

these two, who needed more genial companion- 
ship than could be found in their present loca- 
tion. 

Then, too, Gretchen would be the happier, 
and it augured well for Mr. Slocum’s plan, 
when he saw the girl standing at a street corner 
with her basket. He was soon beside her, tell- 
ing her in a few words what he wished. 

“An old lady and a crippled boy, who read 
the Bible and pray,” she repeated with beam- 
ing eyes. “ There are two rooms for them, with 
the sun shining in every morning, and the rent 
not over high. “I’d be that glad to have them 
there, and I’d do for them all I could. I’m that 
lonely, I’m glad to come out in the morning and 
stay out all the day. But I’m well and strong, 
and I’ve all I need, so I’m thankful. Couldn’t 
I help about the moving, and couldn’t they 
come now? I’ve near emptied my basket, 
and—” 

Here a customer interrupted her, and even 
while Mr. Slocum waited, she sold her entire 
stock. A few more words were exchanged, the 
landlord was visited, the rooms were hired and 
a month’s rent paid in advance, before Mrs. Hal- 
land knew of the change to be made. 

“It is almost in the country,” she said joy- 
fully, when she reached the house and looked 
around. “ It is like what Wirt and I have talk- 


54 


The Winning Side. 

ed about. It wiU be better for us bere, and tba,t 
kind German girl bas made it so easy for us to 
move, I am bardly tired at all.” 

Wirt was delighted with tbe change. There 
was not a saloon in sight, and Gretchen had al- 
ready told him of the mission chapel, where he 
was sure his grandmother could go on Sunday, 
and then tell him what the minister said. 

“You must go too. There will be a way,” 
said Gretchen, who had taken the new comers 
to her heart. “ I can fetch and carry the knit- 
ting, and I know where to do marketing where 
the ones with little money are counted as good 
as any.” 

“You can trust her,” added Mr. Slocum, 
turning to Mrs. Halland. “Everybody who 
knows her trusts her.” 

“ I can well believe it. It would have taken 
us a long time to get as well settled without her. 
The Lord will repay you both for your kind- 
ness. I am sure we never can.” 

“If I have done you any good I am thankful 
for it,” was responded, while mentally the 
speaker added : “ It is little enough good I have 
done in my life.” 

“Have you left Hindman?” asked Tom Lol- 
lard, as the two men met that evening. 

“ I have,” answered Arnot Slocum. 

“ Good for you. I am going to leave, myself, 


55 


Old Tom and Young Tom. 

as soon as I can see ray way clear to earn a liv- 
ing for ray family somewhere else. Was it the 
beer that started you? ” 

“ Yes ; I am tired of it.” 

“ I wish I was, but, to tell the truth, I don’t 
feel as though I could get along without it ; and 
the worst of it is, that the more I drink, the more 
I want.” 

“ That is the way with all beer drinkers.” 

“ You are right there. If I had to pay for my 
beer, it would be pretty hard times for the 
woman and children. I wish there had never 
been a drop brewed. It is bad stuff every way. 
It takes money out of the poor man’s pocket, 
and puts it in the pocket of the rich. You have 
had the name of running a good many saloons, 
but I always thought you were working for 
Hindman, the same as the rest of us.” 

“ I was, and I am sorry I ever worked for him 
a day.” 

“I wish I had been in better business, but I 
never thought much about it till lately. I have 
got one boy and three girls, and they know a 
good deal more about beer than I did, before I 
found it out from their catechism. Young Tom 
— as we call him — is only eight, but you couldn’ t 
hire him or drive him to taste a drop of beer, 
or smoke a whiff. The girls are younger, but he 
has trained them till they are all on his side. 


56 


The Winning Side. 

every time, and I have ’most done with my pipe 
because the youngsters don’ t like the smell of 
tobacco. My wife always did hate it, and I was 
pretty careful about it when I was courting her, 
but after we were married I didn’t mind. Now 
the whole family are against me, it is hard for 
me to stand my ground.” 

“Then why not give up your beer and tobac- 
co? That would be the easiest way to settle it.” 

“I don’t know about that. When a man has 
stuck to his beer and pipe as long as I have, it 
is terrible work to give them up. But I may do 
it. I expect I must, but it will be after I have 
done working for Hindman. I Lave always said 
beer didn’t hurt me, but I don’t feel so sure 
about it now. Since Hammel died, I have been 
thinking about it. The doctor said his blood 
was poisoned with beer and tobacco. It wasn’ t 
much of a hurt he got, and I don’t know as he 
was ever sick before in his life, but he went all 
of a sudden.” 

“He was a heavy drinker.” 

“You may well say that, Mr. Slocum. He was 
proud of standing at the head. There wasn't 
a man among us could drink with him ; but 
he has gone. Hindman sent his widow twenty 
dollars, but that won’t go far with five children, 
and the oldest, a boy following his father's ex- 
ample with beer and tobacco.” 


Old Tom and Young Tom. 57 

“How old is he ?” 

“ Twelve ; but he is no larger than my Tom at 
eight. Mr. Slocum, now honest, do you think 
beer is that bad as the out-and-out temperance 
folks say \ ’ ’ 

“ I have never heard of an over-estimate of its 
badness.” 

“Then why, in the name of all that is good, 
are men allowed to make and sell it ?” 

“For the same reason they are allowed to 
make and sell other intoxicating drinks. There 
is money in making and selling.” 

“And loss of money in drinking. I know that. 
Young Tom is good at figures, for a little chap, 
and he just teazed me the other evening to tell 
him how many glasses of beer I averaged to 
drink in a day. I told him, as near as I could 
calculate, before I thought what he was driving 
at, and it wasn’t long before he had it all figured 
out. I tell you it made me wink pretty fast to 
hear such a big sum, and know it had all gone 
down my throat in a year. I was glad it came 
out of Hindman’s pocket instead of mine. Last 
evening he was after the tobacco, and I couldn’t 
put him off without telling him or speaking 
sharper than I wanted to. He figured that out, 
and when he read what it all came to in the ten 
years since I was married, I was ashamed to 
look my wife in the face. It was enough to pay 


58 The Winning Side. 

for a liome of our own, and have something laid 
by besides.” 

“I hope you have something laid by now.” 

“Hardly enough to carry us through a month’s 
idleness. I ought to be ashamed to say it, but 
it is true.” 

It might have been the force of habit which 
led Mr. Slocum to Water Street. After his in- 
terview with Mr. Hindman, it could not have 
been any sense of responsibility in regard to 
what transpired there ; yet there he was, and 
with him was Tom Lollard, who had walked on 
without any definite purpose in so doing. 

Just as they reached the saloon, a boy and girl 
came out ; the boy carrying a pitcher filled with 
beer, and the girl clutching at his ragged sleeve. 

“Give me some,” she said, in a low, eager 
tone. “Give me some, so I shan’t be so hungry. 
Mammy won’t give me a drop, and we shan’t 
have a single bit of supper, because there ain’ t 
any more money. I wish it was milk ; don' t 
you, Eob?” 

“Yes, but it ain’t. Take some. Mammy 
won’t whip me much harder than she always 
does.” 

“Stop that,” cried Tom Lollard, seizing the 
pitcher and holding it fast. “Don’t you know 
better than to give that poison stuff to your sis- 
ter r 


59 


Old Tom and Young Tom. 

“ Is it poison ? ” asked the girl. 

“Yes, it is,” he answered. 

“Then what makes mammy drink it? She 
says it rests her, and it is better than milk ; but 
I like milk best.” 

“And bread with it, you poor child.” 

“ Oh ! yes ; bread and milk. Sometimes Rob 
buys some for me, but he haint got any money, 
now, and mammy didn’t have only enough for 
the beer.” 

“ Come with me, and we will see what we can 
get.” 

“Please, sir, will you give me the beer for 
mammy, and not take sis away till I come 
back?” said the boy, pleadingly. 

“How is it with you, my man? Wouldn’t 
you like some bread and milk ? ” 

“Yes, sir; but I’m used to doing without it, 
and I don’t mind as much as sis does. It don’t 
hurt me to be hungry as bad as it does her.” 

“You can both have all you want to eat ; so 
hurry back as fast as you can.” 

He was back even sooner than he was expect- 
ed, and the four— for Mr. Slocum wished to see 
what would be done— went to the nearest bake- 
shop, where Tom Lollard bought two large 
loaves of bread. Next, he went to a tin shop, 
where he bought a large-sized paU ; and in the 


6o 


The Winning Side. 

last place visited, he paid for having this pail 
filled with milk. 

“Yon can have enough to eat for once,” now 
said the generous buyer, as he bestowed his 
gifts ; adding : “ Keep the pail for milk, and 
don’t ever let a drop of beer go into it.” 

“We never will,” answered Rob, while his 
sister hugged the two loaves of bread, and look- 
ed the thanks she could not speak. 

For this silence, however, her brother made 
ample amends, so there was no lack in expres- 
sions of gratitude. 

“That beats me,” exclaimed he who had pro- 
vided this supper, and who watched the chil- 
dren until they were quite out of sight. “ I 
don’t understand how a mother can spend her 
last cent for beer, and leave a boy and girl like 
them to go hungry. Thank God my wife never 
takes a drop of beer. She and the children 
never went hungry, either, and they never will 
as long as old Tom can work. I tell you it made 
me think of my own to see that little chap and 
his sister so ragged and pinched looking. I 
don’t know why I came down here with you.” 

“ I don’t really know why I came, except that 
I am in the habit of coming.” 

“Anyway, Mr. Slocum, I am glad we came. 
But deliver me from a beer-drinking woman. If 
I was a young man, I woxildn’t marry such a 


Old Tom and Young Tom. 6i 

woman any sooner than I would send myself to 
ttie poor-house.” 

“ If I was a young woman, I wouldn’t marry 
a beer-drinking man, any sooner than I would 
send myself to the poor-house.” 

“Nor I either, Mr. Slocum; and if all the 
women in the country were of that mind, the 
breweries and the beer shops would be soon 
closed up.” 





CHAPTEE VI. 


BEATEN BY A WOMAN. 

Mr. Chappelle was an applicant for a lucra- 
tive position he was well qualified to fill, and of 
wMch his friends thought him sure ; when for 
some unexplained reason, two, upon whose votes 
they had counted, voted persistently against 
him, thus securing his defeat. 

“ There was something back of that opposi- 
tion,” remarked one gentleman to another. “ I 
believe a round price was paid for those votes. 
Mr. Chappelle is an out-spoken temperance 
man, and there was a possibility that under cer- 
tain circumstances he might deal the liquor in- 
terest some heavy blows.” 

“ But none of the men on our board are en- 
gaged in the liquor business.” 

“ I hope not, although a good deal of that 
business is done on the sly ; so that unless you 
know your man to be all right, it is not safe to 
trust him. There is to be a new brewery, with, 
of course, a larger supply of beer, and home 

consumption is desirable.” 

(62) 


63 


Beaten by a Woman. 

“ You don’t say that you think Hindman — ” 

“I don’t say anything, but I have a right to 
my opinion. Brewers are usually not over- 
scrupulous as to ways and means, and now that 
they encounter some opposition, they are deter- 
mined to prove themselves masters of the sitna- 
tion. They have a long look ahead.” 

“Chappelle missed that chance,” remarked 
Mr. Hindman to his brother-in-law. 

“ Yes ; bpt he ought not to have missed it,” 
was replied. “He is the very man for the 
place.” 

“He may thank his fanatical notions for hav- 
ing missed. I have no ill-will against him, but 
I am bound to look out for my own interests. 
Perpetual vigilance is the price of success in 
any undertaking. I cannot allow Chappelle to 
stand in my way.” 

“ Whoever does that must fall, is your mot- 
to.” 

“ It need not matter to you, as you are in no 
danger.” 

“I am in no danger of being discharged by 
you, so long as I do your bidding ; but all the 
same, I am sorry for Chappelle.” 

“ Perhaps I should be sorry for him, if I 
could spare time for it. I believe I have now 
secured the best terms I can for my new brew- 
ery.” 


64 


7'he Winning Side. 

From young Tolland ? ” 

“ Yes ; and I told him he could make his rep- 
utation for life.” 

“ His reputation is already made. Everybody 
knows him for a fine fellow, and a first-class 
practical mechanic. He employs only reliable 
workmen, so that he cannot fail to do a good 
job.” 

“ He can have a chance to show what he can 
do, and it will be a big chance too.” 

“ Have you concluded the bargain ? 

“Not entirely. We were a few hundred dol- 
lars apart, but he is to see me again in the 
morning, and I hope he will be ready then to 
accede to my terms. If not, I shall accede to 
his. His are cheap enough, but a few hundred 
dollars are worth saving. Hundreds soon count 
up to thousands. I intend to have the best 
equipped brewery in this part of the country. 
Then I shall only need to keep things running, 
and my fortune is made.” 

“You need Slocum to keep things running. 
I begin to think he was a remarkable man, very 
much out of place.” 

“ He is gone ; let him go. Martin will do what 
he is told.” 

“Perhaps so ; but I judge that he is a pretty 
good customer at the bars. However, I presume 
he will do as well as any one who can be hired.” 


Beaten by a Woman. 65 

“ He was poor enough to need every dollar he 
can get, and he was glad of a chance to work. 
See to it that he does his dnty.” 

It was easy to give orders, but difficult to 
obey them, Mr. Colman was tired of the whole 
business, and had he felt at liberty to act ac- 
cording to his own judgment and preference, he 
would have thrown up his engagement with Mr. 
Hindman at once. But the influence of his wife 
held him in a position he despised. 

He could defraud his creditors in what he 
considered a manly way, without feeling dis- 
graced thereby. He was not a teetotaller, and 
he had no sympathy with the ultra-temperance 
party. He believed every man should be a law 
to himself, as regards the use of alcoholic 
drinks ; but the heartless scheming to increase 
the traffic in beer, with which he was every day 
confronted, seemed to him contemptible. 

The shrewdest sometimes fail in their plans, 
as the brewer learned when, instead of coming 
to his terms, Mr. Tolland declined further con- 
sideration of a contract with him. 

“ I am surprised and disappointed,” he said, 
somewhat angrily. “I thought the bargain as 
good as made. I am ready to give you your 
price.” 

“ But I have decided not to build your brew- 
ery at any price.” 

5 


66 


The Winning Side. 

“ 'Why not ? I think, at least, I have a right 
to know the reason for this change.” 

“I prefer not to give any reason, Mr. Hind- 
man. I am sorry to disappoint you, but as 
there was nothing definite settled between us, I 
cannot see that our conversation will cause you 
any loss. I have simply changed my mind in 
regard to the job.” 

“Tell me the reason why you have changed 
your mind, and I may be able to remove the rea- 
son.” 

“ Since you insist upon the reason, Mr. Hind- 
man, I will tell you. As I thought more of it, I 
saw that it would be wholly inconsistent with 
my profession to contract for building a brew- 
ery. I profess to be a Christian, and I am a 
pledged temperance man. As such, I am op- 
posed to the manufacture and sale of beer, and I 
think you will acknowledge that should I build 
your brewery, I should subject myself to well- 
deserved criticism.” 

The moment this was said, Mr. Hindman de- 
termined that at whatever cost, the young man 
should take the contract. He knew the work 
would then be done thoroughly, and without 
unnecessary delay ; both of which considera- 
tions influenced him. Moreover, there would be 
the triumph over prejudice and fanaticism ; and 


Beaten by a Woman. 67 

for this, he assumed a plausible manner, intend- 
ed to be courteous. 

“You will neither make the beer nor sell it, 
and whether you drink it depends entirely upon 
your own choice,” he remarked blandly. “You 
will not be responsible for the use I shall make 
of the building.” 

“No, sir ; but I decline having any responsi- 
bility whatever in the matter. J must act up to 
my own convictions of duty.” 

“Your convictions must have received a sud- 
den impulse.” 

“ They did, and I don’t mind telling you that 
my wife gave the impulse. She placed the mat- 
ter before me in a different light from what I 
had before regarded it.” 

“ In matters of business, women are not al- 
ways wise advisers, although I have no doubt 
that Mrs. Tolland is a superior woman.” 

“We will not discuss that question, Mr. 
Hindman. Begging your pardon for having so 
long trespassed upon your time, I bid you good 
morning.” 

“Beaten by a woman,” muttered the brewer, 
when left alone. “It wont happen again if I 
have my senses all in good working order.” 

“Who is to hold the Wareham estate?” he 
asked Mr. Colman, an hour later. 

“ Miss Phoebe Wareham. It was decided yes- 


68 


The Winning Side. 

terday, and she is to take possession at once. I 
am glad of it too. That scapegrace of a nephew 
wonld have spent the whole property in live 
years. He may thank his aunt for not being in 
prison, where he deserves to go as a forger.” 

“Was the forgery proved ? ” 

“ So far that ho one don b ted it, but he waived 
further examination, and made no further effort 
to obtain the property.” 

“I must look to my lease. It cannot have 
much longer to run, and I would not miss a 
renewal. As soon as you know who is to man- 
age the property, I wish you to attend to it. I 
would rather pay higher rent than give up the 
rooms.” 

Three days after this, Mr. Colman told his 
brother-in-law that it was impossible to obtain a 
renewal of the lease. Mr. Chappelle was to 
manage the Wareham estate, the present owner 
of v/hich was a pronounced temperance woman, 
who would not have a drop of beer sold in any 
house belonging to her. 

“ So there is nothing for it but to move out 
before next week, on Thursday, when your 
lease expires.” 

Mr, Martin, who had succeeded Mr. Slocum, 
was ordered to secure other quarters, and hav- 
ing foiind what he considered a desirable loca- 
tion for a saloon, he called upon the owner of 


Beaten by a Woman. 69 

the house, who proved to be a buxom Irish 
woman. 

“A saloon is it, to draw in the byes and take 
the money from their pockets ! ” she exclaimed. 
“ Sure, Biddy Pheelan never’ 11 be lettin’ a 
place for that same. Me hard earnin’ s and me 
savin’s has gone into that buildin’, an’ meself 
livin’ in the second story back, like a dacent 
body that lam. I’ve a girl and a bye in school 
to larn what their ould mither don’ t know, and 
I’ll not shame them with a saloon, lettin’ alone 
meself. Ye’ll go some other place for all stop- 
pin’ hare.” 

Mr. Martin was glad to escape, but as he look- 
ed around, he saw a vacant lot which possibly 
might be utilized ; and the more he thought of 
the matter, the more convinced he was that this 
was just the place, where by skillful manage- 
ment, a beer saloon could be made to pay a 
large profit. 

It was near a small manufacturing establish- 
ment, on a street through which many mechanics 
and laboring men passed several times each day. 

“ There is no saloon in the neighborhood,” 
said Mr. Martin. “ No better place can be 
found for one. With a little music, occasion- 
ally, in the evening, boys and young men could 
be drawn in as regular customers. They would 
be a paying set too.” 


70 


The Winning Side. 

He was angry at having failed to secure what 
seemed to him such desirable quarters, report- 
ing at once to Mr. Hindman. This gentleman 
instructed his brother-in-law to purchase the 
unoccupied lot, even if obliged to pay a some- 
what exorbitant price. 

“ An hour too late, unless Mrs. Pheelan will 
sell to you,” said the gentleman to whom appli- 
cation was made. “The owner was anxious to 
sell it, and Mrs. Pheelan wished to buy it. 
She paid the price, and has a warranty deed 
of it.” 

“Where did she get so much money V’ 

“ W orked for it. She has always been a hard 
working woman ; a shrewd one too. If she 
earned one dollar, she knew how to invest it to 
the best advantage. She never lets a dollar lay 
idle.” 

“ Then perhaps she will be glad to sell at an 
advance from what she paid.” 

“I presume she will, if the right purchaser 
appears, but she is on the lookout for good 
neighbors.” 

“An’ for what are ye afther wantin’ the 
land?” asked Biddy Pheelan, when Mr. Col- 
man called upon her, and made known his busi- 
ness. 

“ I want it for a building lot,” he answered. 
“ I will put up a fine building, and that will in- 


Beaten by a Woman. 71 

crease the value of all property in this neighbor- 
hood. I am prepared to pay the price, cash 
down, if we can agree upon terms.” 

Biddy was cautious. She wished for time to 
consider the matter ; so that despite his most 
plausible reasoning, the would-be purchaser was 
obliged to leave without accomplishing his pur- 
pose. 

Mrs. Pheelan went at once to the gentleman 
of whom she had made the purchase ; and after 
her questions had been answered, she cried in 
an excited tone ; 

“For the brewer with his beer, is it, again? 
An’ sure how will he be coomin’ nixt? He’ll not 
have the land while I’m able to kape it. When 
Terry is through with school, and maybe college 
aftherit. I’ll give him the land, if he’s thrue 
blue for cold wather. If, not, he’ll go without. 
And now I’ll go home to earn a new dollar to 
put with the ould ones.” 

Of course, Mr. Colman’s second visit was no 
more satisfactory than the first. Indeed, it was 
far less so ; since Mrs. Pheelan, who was in gar- 
rulous mood, expressed her unqualified con- 
tempt for all beer makers and beer sellers, until 
the listener was glad to beat a hasty retreat ; re- 
porting at headquarters another failure. 

Yet something must be done. Miss Ware- 
ham’s block must be vacated ; and in the search 


72 


The Winning Side. 


for other accommodations, Mr. Hindman learned 
that, although his business was protected by- 
law, much yet remained to be done before the 
mass of American people would accept beer as a 
national beverage. 


CHAPTER VII. 


A BRAVE LEADER. 

“A REMARKABLE lectiire, and I suppose we 
are expected to believe all we have been told ; 
bnt for one, I am not so credulous,” said Agnes 
Hindman, with a sneer. “A temperance lecture 
before sucb an audience ! As tbougb we young 
ladies were in danger of becoming drunkards ! 
Mrs. Jiempton must be getting into ber dotage.” 

“Mrs. Kemp ton in her dotage!” responded 
one of the group of girls to whom the above 
remarks were made. “Why, I heard a gentle- 
man say, not long ago, that she is just in the 
glory of her life. As for the lecture, it came in 
the regular course on Physiology, and was cer- 
tainly interesting. I learned a great deal, and I 
have no doubt that all she said was true. 

“The next time I feel too tired to hold my 
head up, I shall invigorate my system with pure, 
bracing air, instead of resorting to tonics of any 
kind. No more beer or ale for me, under any 
circumstances. I have done with them forever.” 

“I have not. So long as my father makes 

( 73 ) 


74 


The Winning Side. 

good, wliolesome beer, I shall drink it when I 
please. I have no patience with such fanatical 
nonsense as we heard last evening, and besides I 
know it is not true. The lecturer had a purpose 
to accomplish.” 

“Of course she had, and what is more, she 
accomplished her purpose. The girls in our sec- 
tion have organized a Temperance Union, with a 
full complement of officers. We have chosen 
our motto, too, which is none other than ‘ On- 
ward to Victory.’ ” 

“A Temperance Union here in school ! ” 

“ Yes ; right here. Miss Hindman.” 

“You must have improved the first hour at 
your disposal.” 

“We did; we remembered the injunction to 
strike when the iron is hot.” 

“ Who leads the forlorn hope ? ” 

“Constance Chappelle ; and a brave leader 
she will be. Of course, you know a Union was 
proposed last evening.” 

“No; Mrs. Kempton excused me as soon as 
the lecture was over. I could endure no more.” 

“ Fortunately, others could ; and we hope to 
induce every young lady in school to join the 
Union.” 

“ But what if your president leaves % You 
know her father has failed.” 

“Yes, but she has not failed. She is to pay 


A Brave Leader. 


75 


her expenses by teaching ; and after she gradu- 
ates, if nothing better offers, I presume Mrs. 
Kempton will engage her permanently. 

“I am glad Miss Hindman gave me an oppor- 
tunity to express my mind,” added the speaker, 
as this young lady walked haughtily away. “ I 
knew we might expect opposition from her, and 
just now she assumes to be Miss Chappelle’s su- 
perior ; so I had the pleasure of performing a 
double duty ; praising the Union, and praising 
its president. I wish Mr. Hindman had lost 
money instead of Mr. Chappelle.” 

“ There is not much danger that he will lose 
money. His losses will be in other commodi- 
ties.”, 

“ What other ? ” 

“Health, honor, and the respect of all really 
good people.” 

“ And his children ? Agnes thinks her broth- 
er a wonderful boy ; so handsome and so talent- 
ed.” 

“ She considers herself handsome and talent- 
ed.” 

“ And so she is, but the beauty of Con Chap- 
pelle’s face grows upon you every day ; and by 
and by people will call her very beautiful. Her 
face will never grow coarse and heavy.” 

“On the contrary, one dark, handsome face 
may change, until it becomes almost repulsive. 


76 The Winning Side. 

If tlie lecturer’s theory is correct, Migs Hind- 
man cannot drink beer without losing the beau- 
ty upon which she prides herself. She will be 
asked to join the Union, and of course she will 
refuse, and influence some others to do the 
same.” 

“ I suppose she will, but we have Mrs. Kemp- 
tou’s support, and we are sure of the best girls 
in school.” 

The Union thus organized prospered beyond 
the most sanguine expectations of its friends ; 
although in certain quarters it was the subject 
of criticism. 

“I will tell you why I have taken this new 
departure,” said Mrs. Kempton, in reply to 
some questions asked by one who had always 
taken a deep interest in her school. “ I was 
forced to it by a sense of duty, which is the re- 
sult of study, observation, and a limited experi- 
ence. It may sound strange to you, but I be- 
lieve the young people of this generation need 
line upon line, and precept upon precept in 
warning against the use of beer. It is an insid- 
ious enemy, and all the more so, because so 
many praise it as a friend to health and vigor.” 

“I have considered it so, Mrs. Kempton, and 
I know several ladies who depend upon, it as 
much as upon their food.” 

“ Very likely, too, the beer or ale upon which 


A Brave Leader. 


77 

they depend for strength, was prescribed by a 
physician.” 

“ I know it was, in some instances.” 

“ A physician once prescribed ale for me ; a 
certain quantity to be taken each day, and I fol- 
lowed his prescription for a month. At the end 
of that time, I was convinced that its further 
use would injure rather than benefit me ; and. 
Miss Dearborn, I was frightened to find how 
much I missed the stimulant, while I certainly 
had gained nothing in health.” 

“But if you had continued its use for a longer 
time ?” 

“ Then the more I should have missed it when 
I gave up its use, for I certainly should not 
have continued it through my whole life. Two 
or three years ago, I called upon a young mar- 
ried lady, who was formerly one of my pupils. 
She had a kind husband and a pleasant home, 
but I could not rid myself of the feeling that 
there was something wrong in her looks and ap- 
pearance. She finally told me she had not been 
strong since the birth of her child, and was then 
drinking lager beer as a tonic and appetizer. 

“ After that, I was at no loss to account for 
the change I saw in her ; but as it was not my 
place to offer advice, I made no comment. This 
lady is now a mother for the second time, and 
her younger child has been so strangely ill, that 


78 


The Winning Side. 

another physician was called in to consult with 
the family physician, and he pronounced the ill- 
ness to be caused by beer drank by the mother. 

“Since knowing this fact, which I have no 
doubt is paralleled by tens of thousands of 
others, I have thought much upon the subject, 
and am fully convinced that all educators 
should see to it that proper instruction be given 
to those under their care, in regard to the effect 
of alcoholic drinks upon the human system.” 

“But, Mrs. Kemp ton, beer is hardly an alco- 
holic drink.” 

“I must disagree with you there, Miss Dear- 
born. Of course, it does not contain as much 
alcohol as gin or whiskey, but there is enough 
to make it a dangerous drink. Then it is often 
drank in such quantities, that quantity as well 
as quality must prove injurious. If I mistake 
not, temperance workers will find beer the most 
stubborn enemy they have to combat.” 

“And I have thought it such a blessing. So 
many ladies with whom I am acquainted have 
found it such a tonic ; keeping up their strength, 
when they claim that otherwise they would 
have been confirmed invalids. They are more 
robust and fleshy than formerly, and they at- 
tribute their improvement wholly to beer or ale. 
Some drink one, and some the other. 

“ I confess I have been surprised at the quan- 


A Brave Leader. 


79 


tity drank, but supposed it all right. But, Mrs. 
Kempton, according to your theory, the children 
of these ladies should be puny and weak, while, 
on the contrary, they are large, fine-looking 
children ; and, so far as I know, in good health. 
One lady told me that if her child seemed 
drooping, she gave him the same tonic she took 
herself, and it always set him right.” 

“Watch that child, Miss Dearborn, and see 
what he will be as he grows older, and goes out 
into the world. Size is not always a mark of 
health, and the flesh of beer drinkers is rather a 
fatty degeneration, than good, honest flesh. 
Such persons are more subject to disease than 
others, and when diseased they are not so easily 
cured.” 

“ Then would you never give stimulants ? ” 

“Never, except to tide over a sudden danger, 
until other remedies could take effect. Some of 
our best physicians, too, are coming to this same 
decision, and their numbers will steadily in- 
crease.” 

“I must study this subject. If you are right 
in these conclusions, there is need of a thorough 
reform in our habits of thinking and drinking.” 

“There is imperative need of it. Miss Dear- 
born, and I am thankful a beginning has al- 
ready been made. It has been made, too, in the 
light place. Under proper school instruction, 


8o 


The Winning Side. 

children will soon be able to teach us older peo- 
ple what are our dangers and our duties. So far 
as I am concerned, I intend that the young 
ladies under my charge shall know what may be 
expected from the use of alcoholic drinks. 
They shall be warned against them.” 

“ In some instances your influence will be 
neutralized by home influence.” 

“ For that, I am not responsible. I can only 
do my part of the needed work.” 

“Your pardon, Mrs. Kempton, but has it ever 
occurred to you that you may possibly lose pa- 
tronage by your decision ? ” 

“It has. I believe all considerations have had 
their full weight with me. But, as you know, I 
have burned my ships, and there is for me no 
retreat.” 

It was not to be expected that all members of 
the school would join a Temperance Union, yet 
all were invited to do so, and a large majority 
responded cordially. 

Agnes Hindman, however, professed to feel 
herself insulted. She even talked of leaving. 
She insisted that she had a right to drink what 
she pleased, and ridiculed those who were so 
foolish as to bind themselves by pledges and 
promises. 

“My father did not send me here to be taught 
that he is a monster of wickedness, brewing a 


A Brave Leader. 


deadly drink,” ske said angrily. “ The idea 
that I wonld array myself against my father and 
liis business is too absurd to be tolerated. I 
would not do it any sooner than Marvie Canning 
would act against her father.” 

“ Marvie Canning has joined our society,” re- 
sponded the young lady, who had listened to 
her companion without betraying the slightest 
annoyance. 

“ But her father is a wholesale wine mer- 
chant, and they always have wine on the table 
at dinner. She told me so herself. Her father 
and her brother drink it.” 

“ I know they do, and that is one reason why 
Marvie has signed our pledge. Everybody ac- 
quainted with the family knows that her brother 
Vinal is in danger of becoming a drunkard.” 

“How do they know it?” exclaimed Miss 
Hindman, with some asperity. “ He is a splen- 
did fellow, and if he was my brother, I should 
call you to account for saying a word against 
him.” 

“ I have only said what is generally known, 
and what Marvie deplores. There is no reason 
why I should speak of him at all. I have no ac- 
quaintance with him. I know that he is hand- 
some and has a fortune in expectation. Next to 
Con Chappelle, Marvie Canning is our most en- 
thusiastic member.” 

6 


82 The Winning Side. 

“Then why did nofc one of them come to 
me?” 

“ Because they were not appointed to this 
part of the work.” 

“ Miss Chappelle had better go home and help 
her father to earn a living. He is poor as a 
beggar.” 

“No, Miss Hindman, yon make a mistake 
when you say that. Mr. Chappelle can never be 
a beggar. He is a gentleman ; his wife is a lady, 
and his children, from the oldest to the young- 
est, are treasures. I am sorry for Con, but she 
needs no pity from any one. She is quite above 
it. Many of us would be willing to pay a high 
price for her talents, if money would buy them.” 

Agnes Hindman had not succeeded in ruffling 
either the temper or manners of her school- 
mate ; a fact of which she was painfully con- 
scious when left alone. Then her cheeks burned 
at the thought of her own indiscretion. She 
had betrayed her interest in Vinal Canning. 
She had spoken spitefully of Constance Chap- 
pelle, whom she knew to be greatly her supe- 
rior, and whom she secretly admired. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


gbetchen’s mission aet work. 

Mr. Hindman was thoronglily displeased, and 
Mr. Colman was so dissatisfied that he did not 
care to conceal his dissatisfaction. 

It was evident that Martin was wholly unfit 
for his position. He had no business capacity ; 
he was deficient in such qualities as would com- 
mand the respect even of saloon-keepers, and 
above all, he was a beer-drunkard. 

“ Send him adrift, and engage some one else 
to take his place,” said Mr. Hindman. 

“But where shall I find the right man?” 
asked Mr. Colman. 

“I don’t know ; that is a part of the business 
I never attended to. Try one after another, until 
you find the right man. There are men enough 
looking for business.” 

“But not another like Slocum. By the way, 
I saw Mm to-day. He said he was in the city 
for only a few hours, on business, and he looked 
like a prosperous man.” 

“That has nothing to do with Martin. He 
must be discharged at once. ” 


( 83 ) 


84 The Winning Side. 

“ And let th.e saloons run themselves % ” 

“No ; they cannot be trusted. Another com- 
plaint against the Water Street saloon will fin- 
ish it, and I cannot afford that. If you can 
make any arrangements that will leave us with 
less responsibility, do so, and I will come to 
your terms. Another thing, you must look 
after the ward meetings next week. See that 
we have a friend in each ward, who will act for 
us and report all proceedings. Of course, they 
must be paid for such work, and money is well 
invested when it buys a working friend. Votes 
can be bought at primary meetings that count 
for as much in the long run, as at the polls.” 

Here the consultation, or conversation, was in- 
terrupted by the appearance of the morning 
mail, which was brought to the private office by 
a clerk. Mr. Hindman always examined this, 
himself, afterwards dictating replies to such let- 
ters as required them. 

There were many communications ; among 
them, a circular addressed to the brewers of the 
country, calling upon them to take vigorous 
measures for the protection of their interests. 
Money must be spent freely, and every precau- 
tion taken to prevent their enemies obtaining 
positions of influence. 

There was to be a convention ; not openly ad- 
vertised, but conducted with due regard to se- 


Gretchen s Missionary Work. 85 

crecy, in wMch plans wonld be discussed look- 
ing to immediate and important results. TMs 
convention was called for a distant city, but Mr. 
Hindman resolved to attend, leaving Mr. Col- 
man in charge of home affairs ; and, after some 
consideration, he offered this gentleman a cer- 
tain share in the profits of the business. 

“ It will now be for your interest, as well as 
mine, to make the most of all opportunities,” 
he said, when the matter was finally settled. 
“You must throw scruples to the winds, if you 
are going to do your best. A man cannot afford 
to be sentimental if he is bent on making a for- 
tune. Let every man look out for himself. 

“I leave others to praise beer as a healthy 
beverage. That is not my part. I am only anx- 
ious to sell as many gallons as I can, at as great 
a profit as 1 can. Somebody else must take care 
of the consequences. I have no time to consider 
them.” 

Mr. Col man was carefully instructed in regard 
to the responsibilities he was expected to as- 
sume ; and finding himself fully committed, de- 
termined to waste no time in useless regrets for 
what might have been. 

Martin must be discharged, and it occurred to 
him that a young man, who under the stress of 
great necessity — as Mr. Slocum had informed 
him— consented to “manage a saloon,” might be 


86 


The Winning Side. 

secured to take the place of general agent. This 
young man was in every way reliable ; a strict 
teetotaller, and one who held himself above any- 
thing like meanness or dishonesty. If he could 
be obtained for the position, salary would be a 
small consideration. The proposal was made to 
him, with some flattering compliments. 

“I cannot do the work you desire of me,” he 
said decidedly. “Untended to tell you to-day 
that you must And some one to take my place 
here.” 

“ Why so, Mr. Acton ? We cannot spare you. 
You are a model man for your place. If you 
want more generous terms, we will consider 
them.” 

“No, sir; I must go. I should be glad to 
leave within an hour, and I cannot stay, at the 
longest, after to-morrow.” 

Mr. Colman did not again ask him his reason 
for so doing, but he did ask : 

“Can you do better elsewhere % ” 

“ Yes, sir ; I can,” was replied. 

“How much better ? ” 

“ So much better, that I shall not be ashamed 
to look my old friends in the face. It is not for 
me to condemn your business, especially after 
what I have done the last six months, but I 
must be out of it.” 

A bright young fellow, on a strike from his 


Gretchens Missionary Work. 87 

regular employment, came in while they were 
talking, and without much delay he was en- 
gaged as saloon-keeper ; thus leaving Mr. Acton 
at liberty. 

“ I don’t know about its being the best thing 
for me, but I need to earn money, and I should 
not be allowed to work at my trade anywhere,” 
remarked the young mechanic to his predeces- 
sor. “ I don’ t think I shall be interfered with 
here. This seems to be a privileged business, 
and now, when so many men are idle, they are 
pretty sure to patronize saloons of one kind or 
another. I don’t know as I shall keep things as 
straight as you have, but I shall keep them as 
straight as I can.” 

“ Then don’t taste of beer yonrself.” 

“ That is too much to expect of me. I like a 
glass occasionally, anyway, though I intend to 
be very moderate.” 

“ I am sorry, but I must not say more ; only 
do manage so as not to have a boy’s help. I 
have done all the work, myself.” 

“ I shall not try that. I shall have all the 
help allowed me. I think I know a colored boy 
who will be glad of the chance. He and his 
mother are poor enough to be glad of almost 
anything that will bring in a penny.” 

Poor ! Their poverty was abject. They lived 
in a building once used as a shed, and which 


88 


The Winning Side. 

had been imi)roved so little, that it was fit only 
for the storage of wood or coal ; except that a 
chimney in one corner made it possible to have 
a fire, whenever fuel could be obtained. 

Dice Sangall was ten years old ; bright, active, 
and hungry. His mother said he never had 
enough to eat, no matter how much she gave 
him ; and she often gave him so much, that she 
went siipperless to bed. 

Her bed was a lounge, given to her when con- 
sidered past service by its former owner. Dice 
curled up on the floor, covering himself with 
such rags as he could find, and sleeping as only 
such a boy can sleep. He, as well as his mother, 
were ready for any work they could do ; yet it 
often happened that they earned so little, it was 
a wonder they were able to keep even the sem- 
blance of a home. 

Dice, therefore, was delighted when offered 
what seemed to him munificent wages, for help- 
ing in a beer saloon. He could keep “mau- 
mer,” and have a fire every cold night ; besides 
buying meat and “tatoes.” But this was not 
to be, as he found, when he reported his antici- 
pated good fortune to his mother, who was in- 
clined to punish him for having thought of go- 
ing into a saloon. 

“ Haven’t I told you times enough never to 
dr ink that beer stuff?” she exclaimed, with con- 


Gretcheris Missionary Work. 89 

tractions and expletives I will not attempt to re- 
produce. 

“I wasn’t to drink it, manmer, and I want the 
money,” said Dice in a subdued tone. 

“ I won’t trust you, because I know all about 
it. I’ve seen men going in and coming out, and 
I won’t have you in such a place. A lady told 
me once if you never had no tobacco, and didn’t 
drink nothing stronger than cold water, you’d 
be sure to have everything you need when you 
grow up. Go tell that man you can’t help him, 
and then you come straight back, fast as your 
legs will bring you ; else you’ll be sorrier than 
when you don’t have any supper.” 

Dice knew the meaning of that threat, and 
governed himself accordingly ; returning to find 
his mother talking with a stout, rosy-cheeked 
girl, who carried a basket in which, to his eyes, 
there seemed to be a wonderful variety of articles. 

It was Gretchen Stagel, who was passing the 
shed, where she saw a woman seated on a stool 
by the door. Not expecting a sale, she yet 
asked the familiar question, as an excuse fot 
stopping. 

“Not a penny to buy bread, and how will I 
buy pins and needles, when I’ve no cloth for 
sewing ? Look in and see what I have.” 

“And have you no one belonging to you?” 
asked Gretchen. 


90 


The Winning Side. 

“I’ve Dice, but he’s a boy, and we’ve not been 
here long. We’re strangers, and there’s so 
many crowding for work, we’ve little chance.” 

Then she told of the work offered Dice, which 
she had compelled him to refuse ; and then 
Gretchen was sure the woman deserved assist- 
ance. 

“Come with me, and I will buy enough for 
your supper,” she said. “There wiU be a way 
for you to live, but this is a dreadful place.” 

“We don’t mind, now the summer is coming, 
but when the wind blew, and the cold was on 
us, we were like to freeze.” 

It was a pitiful story of want and destitution, 
although somewhat softened by cheerful cour- 
age, and a vague trust in One mighty to save. 
There was also a sudden reaction in the poor 
woman’s feelings, when a plentiful supper was 
provided for herself and boy. Dice ate until he 
could eat no more, and still enough remained 
for breakfast. Best of all, too, they had the 
promise of assistance in obtaining work. 

“You are sure to come right in the end, with 
enough and to spare, if you save a little every 
day,” said Gretchen, as she was about to leave 
them. “If you earn not much, you must spend 
not much, and there’s many a comfort to be 
bought for little money. My lady told me that 


Gretchens Missionary Work. 91 

when I was in the ship, and I have proved it 
true.” 

This was but one of the German girl’s many 
kind deeds. Seldom a day passed when she did 
not brighten some otherwise darkened lot, and 
bring comfort to some troubled heart. 

At evening, when her day’s work was done, 
she would go to Mrs. Halland’s room for a talk 
with the dear old lady and the crippled boy, 
who had learned to regard her as their best 
friend. She gave them freely of her strength, 
while they, in return, gave her most grateful 
sympathy. 

She planned pleasant surprises for them. She 
invited them to supper every Sabbath after- 
noon ; living frugally through the week that she 
might provide more generously for this occa- 
sion. Then the Bible was read, and such parts 
of the sermon heard in the morning, as she 
could remember, were repeated to eager listen- 
ers. It was almost “like a real meeting,” as 
Wirt Halland said ; something to be both re- 
membered and anticipated, 

Mrs. Halland had nice country ways of cook- 
ing, and sometimes when Gretchen was working 
harder than usual, she found her supper pre- 
pared for her ; so, that with such interchange of 
kindness, it seemed almost like belonging to a 
family. 


92 


The Winning Side. 

There were other families, too, in the old red 
house, all of whom were ready to do for Gretchen 
Stagel. From her they had learned many a les- 
son of industry and thrift, and it was through 
her influence that every member of these fami- 
lies was a pledged teetotaller. Even the babies 
v/ere pledged by their parents. 

Most of the children went with her to the Mis- 
sion Chapel, and were members of the Sunday- 
school in which she was a teacher. Her class 
consisted of the poorest boys, such as no one 
else could have induced to come there. She 
gathered them in from by-ways and alleys, 
promising them some reward they never failed 
to receive. Once there, they learned such les- 
sons as they could not easily forget. 

Simple, practical, and withal so quaint were 
the illustrations with which these lessons were 
enforced, that the listeners went out from the 
chapel with a new sense of the value of life and 
its opportunities. 

“There is not a paid missionary in the city 
doing better work than that German girl,” re- 
marked the superintendent of the school, to a 
visitor who had observed the “ corner class.” 
“No other one among us could ever bring those 
boys in, and how she does it is more than I can 
quite understand. As you see, they are ragged 


Gretc hen's Missionary Work. 93 

and barefooted, but there are some bright faces 
there.” 

“How does she manage to hold their attention 
so closely ? Every eye is fixed on her, and they 
seem to be drawing nearer to her with every 
word she speaks.” 

“ They are ; and sometimes they all stand 
around her so closely that they touch her. I 
gave them that corner so they might not disturb 
others, or feel embarrassed at being watched.” 

“They would hardly notice it if they were 
watched. Teacher and scholars seem thoroughly 
engrossed with each other.” 

“ They are ; and the teacher has an eye on her 
scholars through the week. If one she has a 
right to expect fails to appear on Sunday, he is 
brought to judgment on Monday. Another 
thing, every one of those boys is pledged against 
the use of profane language, tobacco, and liquor 
of any kind. Miss Stagel has talked to them 
about it, until she has made them believe that is 
the only way they can ever be prosperous or 
happy. They are poor, but she persuades them 
to save something every week, if it is no more 
than a penny.” 

“ She must be a very superior person.” 

“She is, but her superiority consists in in- 
tense couAdctions, and whole-hearted devotion to 


94 The Winning Side. 

what she considers her duty. Then, too, she is 
to the last degree unselfish. She could not be 
happy unless she could share whatever good 
fortune she can wrest from adverse circum- 
stances. She is a Christian, going about in her 
humble way, and doing good as she has oppor- 
tunity.” 


CHAPTER IX. 


THE RELEASED PRISONER. 

Mr. Slocum’s visit to the city was short, but 
while there, he found time to visit Mrs. Halland 
and Mr. Chappelle. Mrs. Halland had much to 
tell him of the comforts of her new home, of 
Wirt’s improved health, as well as improved 
work. She expressed again her gratitude for 
kindness shown to her and her grandson, but 
she said nothing of the son and father, whose 
name she only murmured in her prayers. 

From his interview with her, he went to call 
upon Mr. Chappelle, with whom he had some 
business to transact, and after this was settled, 
he said, hesitatingly ; 

“ There is a poor man in the House of Correc- 
tion who has not long to live, and I am very 
anxious that he should be allowed to die with his 
friends. He has no claims upon you, but if you 
would use your influence in his behalf, I think 
you could obtain his release. Probably you 
never heard his name, but his old mother and 

crippled boy live in the house with Gretchen 

( 96 ) 


96 


The Winning Side, 

Stagel, and I am sure that whoever could obtain 
his release from further imprisonment, would 
perform an act of Christian charity. 

“I always believed him to be more sinned 
against, than sinning, although he was convict- 
ed of assault with intent to kill. It was a quar- 
rel in a Water Street saloon, and the man who 
professed to be so seriously injured was at work 
in a month. While in confinement, John Hal- 
iand has not once disobeyed a rule of the insti- 
tution, or given an officer any trouble. He has 
been trusted and favored because of his exem- 
plary conduct. A few weeks ago, he had an at- 
tack of pneumonia, which has left him in such 
a condition that his death is liable to occur at 
any time.” 

“ Does he realize that ? ” 

“He does, and expects to die where he is ; but 
it would be such a comfort to his old mother to 
have him with her in his last days, that I took 
the liberty to speak to you about it.” 

“ If everything is as you state it, Mr. Slocum, 
— and I have no reason to doubt you — I cannot 
see why he might not be released. At any rate, 
I will make inquiries about him, and do what 
seems to me best.” 

“ I can ask nothing more than that. It is the 
old story of a young man beginning with beer, 
when he would not have tasted stronger drink. 


The Released Prisoner. 


97 


gradually drinking more and more, until beer 
does not satisfy him ; and finally ending in ruin. 
If you bad not done so mucb for me personally, 
I should not bave presumed to ask tbis favor of 
you.” 

“ I am glad you bave brought tbis man to my 
notice. I tbink my boys are acquainted witb 
his mother and son. There is a crippled boy 
living in the old red bouse, who is learning en- 
graving of a German.” 

“ That is Wirt Halland, and now that be is 
looking forward to earning money, be does not 
seem to mind bis lameness. Mr. Volsen, bis 
teacher, who takes great pains witb him, thinks 
be will do good work, and be is certainly 
having a wonderful influence upon the lonely 
man.” 

“ In what way, Mr. Slocum ? ” 

“ In the way of reform. The little fellow is 
persuading him to give up drinking beer, and 
Mr. Yolsen told me himself, that he does not 
drink one glass now, where be used to drink six. 
His interest in Wirt has given him a new pur- 
pose in life.” 

“That is well ; we all need a purpose in life. 
A friendless man is usually careless of his man- 
ner of living.” 

“Yes, Mr. Cbappelle, it requires a great effort 
to bold one’s self to a course of conduct involv- 
7 


98 


The Winning Side. 

ing self-denial, when there are no friends to care 
for the result.” 

“ There is always one friend, Mr. Slocum.” 

“ I know, and if all could realize that, right 
doing would be easier.” 

“Right doing would be the rule instead of the 
exception. But this poor man. Has he a sense 
of his sin in God’s sight? ” 

“ Yes, sir ; and he believes God has forgiven 
his sins, so that he has no fears of what may 
come after this life. He says it is right, too, 
that he should die where he is, but he longs to 
see his mother and his son.” 

“ They would be admitted to see him.” 

“Yes, sir; but he says the sight of him in 
prison would haunt them as long as they live, 
and they have enough to remember now. He is 
writing a long letter, to be given to them after 
he is dead.” 

Mr. Chappelle had been interested in hearing 
Theron and Victor talk of the nice old lady, who 
was always knitting, and the boy, who was 
sometimes occupied in the same way. Now that 
he had heard of the father, he was ready to do 
what he could to bring the family together ; and 
not long after, John Halland was brought to his 
mother’s room, in the old red house. 

Of the embraces and tears, the unspoken ques- 
tions and whispered thanks, I may not write. 


The Released Prisoner. 99 

Mrs. Halland did not need to be told that the 
life of her son was fast ebbing, yet she counted 
it an especial blessing that he was to be with her 
for even a little while. 

He was made as comfortable as possible under 
the circumstances ; many luxuries being brought 
to him which his mother could not have pro- 
vided. There were fresh vegetables from the 
garden of Theron and Victor Chappelle, newly 
laid eggs from their hens, and delicacies pre- 
pared by Mrs. Chappelle, to tempt an invalid’s 
appetite. 

“ So much more than I deserve,” said the suf- 
fering man one day, when speaking of the kind- 
ness shown him. “You and Wirt are so good 
to me, too, when I left you to take care of your- 
selves, while I wasted my time and my strength. 
If I could go back and live it all over, I would 
make things different for you, but it is too late. 
I wonder I could do as I did. I remember when 
I drank my first glass of beer. A new saloon 
was opened on the street where our shop was, 
and some of the boys proposed that we patronize 
it for once. So we went in and drank all ’round, 
and after that it was easy to go again. Not one 
of us thought there was any harm or any danger, 
but the trouble began with the very first glass.” 

He could not say more. The effort he had 
made quite exhausted his strength, and he lay 


lOO 


The Winning Side. 

for a long time with closed eyes. He never men- 
tioned the name of the man with whom he had 
quarrelled in the saloon, and for whose alleged 
injuries he had been imprisoned. He knew the 
injuries had not been serious, and beyond this 
he had not cared to know. He wished to forget, 
as he would be forgotten. 

Yet, one pleasant summer evening, this man 
came to the house, inquiring for John Halland, 
and was admitted to see him. 

“Ah! Jerry, old mate, I am thankful to see 
you looking so well,” he said, in a hoarse whis- 
per. 

“I am sorry to see you — ” here the speaker 
stopped until able to control his voice, when 
he half sobbed : “ If I could take your place, I 
would. The blame was all mine, and the pun- 
ishment was yours when you didn’t deserve it. 
O John, if I could go back five years, we would 
have no quarrel.” 

“We don’t go back, mate. We are all going 
on. Where do you expect to land ? ” 

“I don’t know. I don’t deserve to land in 
any good place. I have come to find out what I 
can do for you.” 

“ Nothing for me. It is all done, but it would 
make me happier while I live, if I could know 
that you never would drink any liquor again.” 

“I haven’t tasted a drop for six months. 


The Released Prisoner. 


lOI 


There are some children in the house where I 
board, that are always singing temperance 
songs, and marching ’round, with what they 
call a cold-water banner, and they set me to 
thinking different about beer and whiskey from 
w'hat I ever did before. Not another drop of 
either will ever go down my throat.” 

“ Then we are both saved from that, as may 
be we shouldn’t be if it hadn’t been for our 
quarrel. But we need another saving, mate, 
and I believe I’ve got it. How is it with you % ” 

Tears were the only response made to this 
question, and as it was evident that the inter- 
view ought not to be prolonged, after a few more 
words were exchanged, the visitor took his 
leave. 

In the hall he found Mrs. Halland, who had 
thoughtfully left her son and his old-time com- 
rade, by themselves. Taking from his pocket a 
small roll of bills, he placed it in her hand, ask- 
ing that it might be spent for the benefit of 
them all. 

“Don’t refuse it,” he said pleadingly, as she 
would have returned the money. “I can never 
take it back. It is only a little of the great deal 
I ought to do. The quarrel was all my fault, 
and it was the liqxior with us both.” 

For the few weeks that John Halland lived 
after this, there came to him regularly every 


102 


The Winning Side. 

Saturday evening, a sum of money, whicli was 
as regularly laid aside, to be returned to the 
sender. 

When he died, there was a simple funeral di- 
rected by Mr. Chappelle ; and those who mourn- 
ed the loss of son and father rejoiced also in the 
hope of meeting where there will be no more 
separation. Gretchen Stagel made their rooms 
as bright as possible, welcoming them as they 
came from the grave, and so reminding them 
that some friends yet remained. 

“ It has all been better than I dared expect, 
but he was my son, my only son,” sobbed the 
mother. 

“I will do what I can for you,” responded 
Wirt, looking up lovingly into her face. ‘ ‘ Father 
said we must not be unhappy because he is 
gone. I would rather have him in heaven than 
in prison.” 

“You dear boy, so would I!” and Gretchen 
smiled to see how quickly the look of sadness 
was changed to one of deep content. 

Apart from this, Mrs. Halland had great cause 
for thankfulness. Wirt’s health was much im- 
proved. He had been provided with crutches, 
which assisted him so much in walking, that he 
was no longer dependent upon others. He had 
once walked a short distance on the street, and 


The Released Prisoner. 103 

looked forward to the time when this would be 
no rare occurrence. 

“You must thank Grretchen,” said Victor 
Chappelle, who presented the crutches. “ She 
told us what to do, or perhaps we shouldn’t 
have thought of it.” 

“ Gretchen is always helping everybody, but I 
thank you all.” 

“That will do. We will take our small share, 
and as for Gretchen, mother says she is a real 
missionary. The boys say she makes the best 
buns of anybody, and if she kept a bun shop, 
they would all patronize her. She ought to 
keep a shop.” 

“I don’t believe she would like it as well as 
going round with her basket. She sees more 
people.” 

“ And she can do more good,” added Theron. 
“She talks to the poor folks, and tells them 
how they can have nice things that don’t cost 
much. Then some of the rich folks give her 
things she can give to the poor ones.” 

“Then you know she always has a temper- 
ance pledge in the bottom of her basket, ready 
for signers.” 

“ I know it, Wirt, and I tell you that is a 
good thing. We have signed her pledge, so to 
help fill up, ’ though we belong to another pledge, 
too. I wish she could get Claude Hindman to 


104 The Winning Side. 

sign, but it isn’t likely bis father would allow 
it, even if he wanted to. Gretchen knows about 
his father, and she wouldn’t ask him, though he 
is one of her best customers when she has hot 
buns to sell. He is polite to her, too, the same 
as he is to us, now.” 

“His father is rich, isn’t he ? ” 

“ Yes ; men who make beer are almost always 
rich,” responded Victor. “You see it is a 
money-making business, because the water in 
the beer don’t cost anything, and the other 
things don’t cost much. Then there are lots of 
ways they can cheat, and make a little do a 
great deal. Mr. Hindman is going to have a 
new brewery, ever so much larger than the old 
one. I wish they would both burn down, and 
he never could make another drop of beer as 
long as he lives.” 

The contract was already signed for the erec- 
tion of the new brewery. The contractor was a 
less scrupulous man than Mr. Tolland. As he 
told Mr. Hindman, it made no difference what 
he built. He worked for money, and where he 
could get the most money was the place for him. 

This was not wholly satisfactory to one desir- 
ing the best service, but as it was the expression 
of his own policy, the brewer could not well pro- 
test against it. 

He had returned from his trip more than ever 


The Released Prisoner. 105 

determined to carry out liis own plans, at any 
cost. He was pledged to do this, not only for 
his own benefit, but for the benefit of all other 
brewers. They were to make common cause 
against their enemies ; contesting every point, 
and carrying by stratagem what they failed to 
accomplish in a fair fight. 


CHAPTER X. 


THE BEGGAR TEAHSFOEMED. 

JiTST at twilight of a cloudy day, as Mr. Hiad- 
man was walking rapidly along a lonely part of 
the mill road, he was accosted by a forlorn look- 
ing man, who exclaimed : 

“ For Hod’s sake, Hindman, give me a dol- 
lar?” 

“ Give you a dollar ! Get out of my way ! ” 
was replied, scornfully. “If there was a police- 
man in sight, I would turn you over to him. 
Get out of my way, you beggar ! ” 

“Yes, 1 am a beggar ; and you are the villain 
who made me so,” retorted the man. “ Perhaps 
you don’t know me, but I did you a service 
once, and to pay me for it, you kept me drunk 
for a week and then turned me adrift. You re- 
member it, don’t you ? Do you remember tell- 
ing somebody, after that, that you had been tak- 
ing care of me, while I got over a spree ? ” 

“What are you talking about? Who are 
you ? Where did you come from ? What is 
your name ? I never saw you before. You 

never did me any service ! ” 

( 106 ) 


The Beggar Transformed. 107 

“ That is a lie, Charles Hindman, bnt it is not 
the first one you have told me. My name is 
Prentiss Wetherbee, and, but for you, I might 
be a prosperous man. It was for your interest 
to make me what I am. You are rich and I am 
a beggar ; but if you had your deserts, I would 
not change places with you. If it was not for 
this fiendish appetite for liquor which holds me 
down, I would denounce you for the villain that 
you are. You remember that Willett affair. 
That boy and girl are living, and sometime they 
will call you to judgment. There is only one 
link missing in the chain of evidence necessary 
to secure their rights, and that will be found. 
The devil always turns traitor to his servants, 
and he will make no exception in your case.” 

“ What are you talking about % You have 
mistaken your man. I am Charles Hindman, 
the brewer ; rich enough to crush a hundred like 
you, and have not a dollar the less.” 

“You have told the truth ; only you take bet- 
ter men than I am, and fit them for the next 
crusher, who finishes the work. Your business 
suits you, but you will not always prosper.” 

“You cannot injure me. You can bring no 
proof against me. Ho one would believe what 
such a wretch as you might say. You are too 
far gone for that.” 

“Perhaps I am, but if anything could keep 


io8 The Winning Side. 

me from drink, it would be the pleasure of de- 
nouncing you for the black-hearted man I know 
you to be. You had Arnot Slocum under your 
thumb for a good while, but I am thankful he 
left you at last. How he could stoop to do what 
he did for you, is more than I can understand.” 

“ He did not stoop, but he worked for me be- 
cause if I had told what I knew of him, no one 
else would have trusted him for a single day.” 

“ What did you know ? It couldn’ t have been 
anything against him, for he was a noble fellow. 
He was the best friend I ever had. If it hadn’t 
been for him, you would have put me so far out 
of your way, I should never have troubled you 
again. I ought to be man enough to reform, 
and pay him what I owe him.” 

“ He let you have four hundred dollars.” 

“He did, and it saved me then ; but I am not 
sure I was worth saving.” 

“He stole the money for you.” 

“Don’t say that again, Charles Hindman. If 
you do, I will pull you down, whatever it costs 
me. Arnot Slocum was true as steel, and honest 
as the day.” 

During this short interview, there had been a 
wonderful change in the appearance of Prentiss 
Wetherbee. The cringing manner had given 
place to one of confident assurance ; the bowed 
form had gradually become erect ; the dull eyes 


The Beggar Transformed. 109 

had brightened ; and the husky voice grown res- 
onant and clear. 

In the brewer, also, there had been as marked 
a change. He could not disguise the fact that 
he was ill at ease. He did not attempt to deny 
the charges brought against him. He was no 
longer arrogant in his manners. 

He was not prepared for this encounter, and 
when confronted with the man now before him, 
he fancied he could easily silence such a beggar. 
In this, however, he was disappointed ; and with 
his usual policy, he made trial of a different 
method. 

“ Here is the dollar for which you asked me, 
and nine more with it,” he said, at length, tak- 
ing a bank-bill from his pocket. “We shall 
neither of us gain anything by trying to injure 
the other. I have no wish to injure you. On 
the contrary, I should be glad to help you ; but 
I shall defend myself. You must see that it 
would be hard for you to fight me with my 
money and my influence.” 

“ I should not do it alone, Mr. Hindman. 
There are others who could speak with author- 
ity ; and I warn you that there is a day of reck- 
oning coming for you, as there is for us all. 
Keep your money. I would rather starve than 
take it. I was mad to ask a favor of you ; I 
shall never do it again.” 


I lO 


The Winning Side. 

“ Let us not part in this way,” said Mr. Hind- 
man, deprecatingly. “At least accept a loan 
from me, to be paid at your convenience.” 

“Not a cent of your money, either as gift or 
loan. When I asked you, I had forgotten that 
every dollar you have may be the price of some 
poor fellow’s ruin. The man who drinks beer is 
a fool, and the man who makes it is a rascal. 
That is the way I look at it.” 

“That is not the way I look at it ; but we 
need not quarrel over a mere matter of opinion. 
Let me be of assistance to you in some way. I 
should be glad to give you employment. Now 
that I am enlarging my business, I shall need a 
larger force of men. If you are a mechanic, you 
can have work on my new building.” 

“ I am not a mechanic.” 

“ Would you act as a travelling agent % I am 
interested in several companies which are put- 
ting new and desirable stocks upon the market, 
and I think I could make it worth your while to 
help us in some capacity.” 

“ And would you trust me ? ” 

“ Certainly I would.” 

“ But you forget that I am a beggar and a 
drunkard.” 

“ I believe you would reform your habits.” 

“ I would, and I will, God helping me. But 
Prentiss Wetherbee, reformed, will never work 


1 1 1 


The Beggar Transformed. 

for you. I am ready now to bid you good even- 
ing, and I trust not to cross your path again, 
until I am not a beggar.” 

Mr. Hindman was troubled. He bad spoken 
falsely in saying be would trust tbe man, wbom 
be both feared and bated ; but if tbis man could 
be persuaded to accept a position in any way 
dependent upon bis favor, be could easily con- 
trol bim. He could count on tbe craving for 
alcoholic liquors as a powerful aid to tbe fur- 
therance of bis plans. Now, with tbe refusal he 
had received, and which be could not doubt was 
final, be felt somewhat like a bunted criminal, 
whose only way of escape bad been suddenly 
cut off. 

In tbis mood be went to his home, where bis 
wdfe was entertaining some friends, and where 
his daughter, radiant in her beauty, hastened to 
meet bim, with marked demonstrations of affec- 
tion. Instantly bis brow cleared, and he was 
tbe affable host, tbe devoted husband, and tbe 
fond father. 

“We are fortunate in meeting you tbis even- 
ing,” said one of the ladies. “Gentlemen are 
so engrossed in business, they waste little time 
on us, who can only look on and wonder at their 
ability.” 

Mr. Hindman acknowledged gracefully both 
flattery and compliment, and was soon listening 


I 12 


The Winning Side. 

to an animated discussion in regard to an en- 
gagement of marriage, between two whom many 
people thought wholly unsuited to each other. 

“ They have some sympathies in common,” 
remarked one. “ They are both fanatics of the 
deepest dye on the temperance question. Either 
of them would consider it a sin to drink a glass 
of your beer, Mr. Hindman ; and that is carry- 
ing things too far. Even Dr. Mensell, good man 
as he is, with all his learning, does not condemn 
the proper use of beer. That reminds me that 
he is quite ill. He has not been out of the 
house since Sunday. He needs a long vaca- 
tion.” 

“We all need vacations, and clergymen are 
more sure of theirs than most other people. 
Sometimes it seems as though they had more 
than their share.” 

“lam sure you cannot say that of Dr. Men- 
sell,” rejoined the first speaker. “He deserves 
every good which comes to him. He is so lib- 
^ eral in his views, and so lenient in his judg- 
ments, we ought to count him a treasure. He is 
a decided contrast to some clergymen I could 
name.” 

“ That is true, and it is well that he is. If he 
was not, he would lose some of his best paying 
hearers. I am sure you would not hear bim^ 
Mr. Hindman.” 


The Beggar Transformed. 1x3 

“I should not. I seldom have that pleasure 
now ; hut my family more than make my place 
good, and I intend to contribute my share to his 
support.” 

“We all know that, Mr. Hindman. We la- 
dies never bring you a subscription paper in 
vain.” 

“And never will, so long as I am able to re- 
spond. If I should become a poor man, I could 
no longer be generous ; but at present, I think I 
can honor all drafts made upon me.” 

“ If you cannot, we shall despair of drafts 
upon any one. Your star is said to be in the 
ascendant.” 

“ I have always intended to be on the winning 
side.” 

“ And you have the ability to carry out your 
intentions.” 

“Thank you,” replied the gentleman, quite 
flattered by the compliments he had received. 

He looked around upon his possessions, re- 
called the amount of his profits for the last year, 
and shut his lips tightly, as if defying fate to 
interfei^ with his prosperity. 

But for all this, he would have slept more 
soundly that night, could he have known that 
Prentiss Wetherbee was so far lost, as to make 
reform impossible. There was something in the 
proud disdain with which his proffered assist- 
8 


1 14 The Winning Side. 

ance had been rejected, that filled his heart with 
forebodings. 

There was the Willett affair. The boy and 
girl whose interests were involved. Then his ac- 
cusation against Arnot Slocum, which would 
doubtless injure him far more than the accused. 

The next day, however, he went to his busi- 
ness as usual, determined to be infiuenced by no 
misgivings. In the morning, he sent Dr. Men- 
sell a case of his choicest beer, with a note ex- 
pressing solicitude for the health of his pastor, 
and recommending the use of the accompanying 
tonic. In due time, a note of thanks was re- 
turned, with assurance that the tonic was most 
acceptable ; and Mr. Hindman congratulated 
himself upon having thus obtained the endorse- 
ment of a popular clergyman. 

“If it benefits Dr. Mensell, it will benefit 
others,” he said to Mr. Coiman. “At any rate, 
we shall have one clergyman on our side.” 

“We shall need more than one,” was replied. 
“ The organizations opposing us are legion, and 
they understand the importance of primary po- 
litical meetings as well as we do.” 

“ They are not going to defeat us there. We 
must have a list of men who can be trusted ; 
gentlemen in some wards, and roughs in others. 
It may take thousands of dollars to secure them, 
but it must be done. If we can prevent any 


The Beggar Transformed. 115 

especial legislation against us, we can manage 
tlie rest. We can depend largely upon the force 
of habit. When a man becomes accustomed to 
drinking beer, he is likely to drink it as long as 
he can get money to pay for it ; and young men 
are likely to follow the fashion of their elders.” 

“They are more likely to follow the young 
ladies ; and there is a movement inaugurated to 
revolutionize the customs of society in the mat- 
ter of drinking.” 

“How is it you hear so mirch more about such 
things than I do ?” 

“Perhaps because I read the papers more than 
you do ; and then I have a cousin who has gone, 
heart and soul, into the temperance work. She 
is young, but she knows what she wishes to ac- 
complish.” 

“It will take more than wishes to upset our 
business. If, by any means, our enemies can 
get a majority vote of the people against us, our 
situation will be serious. But this we shall not 
allow. By fair means, if possible, but by some 
means, we must prevent this. How is it about 
your new agent % ” 

“I was going to speak to you about him. I 
settled up with him to-day.” 

“ Why so ? From your description, I thought 
he was the very man you needed.” 


ii6 The Winning Side. 

“ I thought so, too ; but his wife thought dif- 
ferently.” 

“ I wonder if women and children are going to 
rule.” 

“ It looks somewhat like it. At any rate, 
they are coming to the front in temperance 
work.” 

“When it comes to that, it will be rule and 
ruin. I am willing to give my wife and children 
every advantage and luxury in my power, but 
they must not interfere with my business ; and 
fortunately, they have no wish to do so.” 

“Another man has gone,” rejoined Mr. Col- 
man. “The manager of the B Street saloon 
went yesterday. I have put a man temporarily 
in his place, but some other must be found, or 
the saloon must be closed.” 

“ What was the trouble there?” 

“ His wife said she would leave him unless he 
left the saloon.” 

“ Why didn’t he tell her to go ? ” 

“ He probably cared more for her than for his 
wages as saloon manager.” 

“How do you know about his wife? ” 

“ He told me. I like to know the reason of 
things, and so I asked him. There is another 
complaint from the Water Street saloon.” 

“ There always will be complaints from there. 


II7 


The Beggar Transformed. 

so long as the policeman now on that beat holds 
his place. That must be looked after at the 
next election of city officers. We may have 
sharp work, but there must be a change in the 
management of affairs.” 


CHAPTEK XL 


gbetchen’s pledge. 

Peentiss Wetheebee’s brain was in a whirl. 
He knew not where to go or what to do. He 
had spent his last penny, and it was the despe- 
ration born of his great necessity, which moved 
him to appeal to Charles Hindman. 

As he thought of their interview, he was 
thankful for the bitter taunts which had at first 
so angered him. They had aroused the old spirit 
of independence, that had so long lain dormant, 
and which he had believed dead. 

He had branded as a lie the assertion that 
Arnot Slocum was a thief ; but as he thought 
more of it, he was half inclined to believe it 
true. This friend had never seemed the same 
since then. He had broken his engagement of 
marriage, upon the plea of unworthiness ; and 
secluded himself from society, where he was 
greatly missed. He had entered the employ- 
ment of a man he was known to despise, and 
pursued an avocation which must have been 

wholly distasteful to him. 

( 118 ) 


Gretchen’s Pledge. 119 

Prentiss Wetherbee’s mind cleared, so that be 
recalled every circumstance connected witb the 
loan, which had freed him from obligations 
threatening his immediate ruin. He remember- 
ed that Arnot Slocum had then said : 

“It was hard for me to raise this money, and 
I would not have done what I have for any one 
else.” 

These words had a significance he had not 
then attached to them. It might be — yes, it 
must be, that Mr. Hindman had spoken the 
truth, and all these years a burden of guilt had 
been carried in silence, and alone. It was to 
save a friend, who was afterwards assisted again 
and again ; every dollar thus bestowed, worse 
than wasted. 

The man thus tortured with memories he 
could not banish stood with bared head and 
trembling limbs. He was faint for the want of 
food, and half wild with craving for accustomed 
stimulants. Night was settling down upon him, 
and somewhere he must, if possible, find shelter. 
He had no thought of sleep. He only wished 
for a resting place, where he could take counsel 
with himself in regard to the future. 

He walked on in the direction of the old red 
house, simply because lights streaming from the 
windows attracted him. Connected with the 
house by a long shed was a barn, so dilapidated 


120 


The Winning Side. 

that it was only used by the owner for the stor- 
age of old lumber. There he would at least be 
unmolested ; and finding an opening on the side 
furthest from the house, he threw himself upon 
a heap of straw ; glad even of such comfortless 
quarters. 

He lay there through the entire night, listen- 
ing to the throbbing of his own heart, which 
seemed ready to burst from its confinement. 
When morning dawned, he arose, determined to 
reform his life ; determined also to repay Arnot 
Slocum four hundred dollars, with interest on 
the same until his debt was cancelled. To ac- 
complish this, he would do any honest work, at 
any wages he could obtain. First, he must earn 
a breakfast ; and seeing a woman standing in the 
front door of the red house, he addressed her, 
asking for work. 

“We are none of us rich enough to hire much 
work done,” she answered pleasantly. 

“But I am hungry, and I will work cheap,” 
said the man, evidently unwilling to go. 

“ I will give you some breakfast,” responded 
Gretchen Stagel, who had risen thus early that 
she might fill her orders for fruit before the day 
was far advanced. 

“ T must earn it, or I must not have it,” he re- 
plied ; and something in the kindly face prompt- 
ed him to add: “I have eaten nothing since 


I2I 


GretcherHs Pledge. 

night before last, and I am trying to start my 
life new this morning. If I can earn a cup of 
strong coffee and a slice or two of bread, they 
will give me strength for the day.” 

“ One of my neighbors has some wood to be 
split ; perhaps she will hire you to do that,” 
said Giretchen. 

Hearing voices, Mrs. Halland opened her win- 
dow, and being told what was wanted, gave the 
hungry man an opportunity to earn his break- 
fast. 

“ Thank you a thousand times,” he said to the 
younger woman. “You have helped me more 
than you know.” 

“ I am glad to help you. I have needed help 
myself, and now I work hard for my living. 
But I earn it, and so I am thankful. Mrs. Hal- 
land will teU you about the wood.” 

“ I will sit on the bench here and wait for her, 
but I am not fit to speak to her or you.” 

“You can make yourself fit. We can any of 
us be clean, inside and out, no matter how poor 
we are. Clean hands, clean face, and a clean 
heart are to be had without money.” 

“ I have neither.” 

“ Water will make clean your hands and face, 
and Christ’s blood will make clean your heart. 
You must know about it, sir.” 

“ It is long since I heard it.” 


122 


The Winning Side^ 

“ All tlie same it is true, as you will learn bet- 
ter than I can tell you, if you go to the chapel 
on Sunday. The minister never forgets to tell 
us how Christ died for us. And here is Mrs. 
Halland, just the best woman I ever saw, except 
my lady, and if you are in any trouble, you bet- 
ter tell her all about it, because she will be sure 
to know just what you ought to do.” 

Mrs. Halland did not need to be told that the 
man before her was a drunkard and an outcast 
from society. There was nothing about him to 
attract favorable notice. On the contrary, there 
was much to repel all lovers of neatness and so- 
briety. But he had a soul, which, however 
steeped in sin, was worth more than the whole 
world. 

Remembering her own son, her heart went out 
in pity for all other sons. She bargained for the 
splitting of the wood, and then suggested that 
breakfast be first eaten. 

“ If you will trust me so far, I shall be thank- 
ful for bread and coffee ; and please make the 
coffee strong. I am used to something stronger. 
I will take it, too, outside, sitting on the bench 
by the shed. A tin basin for the coffee, and 
paper for the bread is all I shall need ; and I 
want neither sugar nor milk. I am used to 
strong liquors, but I shall have no more of 
them.” 


123 


Crete hens Pledge. 

“You must sign Gretchen’s teetotal pledge.” 

“I will sign anybody’s pledge against liquor, 
and God helping me, I will keep it. Only God 
knows how much 1 need to keep it.” 

“ We all need to keep it,” was replied to this 
confession, and Mrs. Halland wisely said no 
more. 

Without unnecessary delay, she set about 
making preparations for the promised break- 
fast. Gretchen furnished the coffee, which was 
boiled on her stove, and also added some slices 
of cold meat to the bread carried to the half- 
starved man, who ate it eagerly while waiting 
for the coffee, of which he afterwards drank a 
large quantity. 

Then he began his work ; applying himself in- 
dustriously, although it required a great effort 
for him to do so. His hands were weak and un- 
steady. and the borrowed axe was dull. Wirt 
Halland, who could see how hard it was for him, 
watched him for awhile, and then went to the 
shed to make his acquaintance ; addressing him 
respectfully, and at the same time mutely ap- 
pealing for sympathy by the lameness which 
made walking so difficult. 

“ Cannot something be done for you ? ” at 
length asked Mr. W etherbee, regarding the boy 
with great interest. 

“I don’t know but there might be if I had 


124 The Winning Side. 

lots of money, and could bear lots of pain,” was 
replied. “ I never could be like you, but — ” 

“ Like me ! Better die than be like me. 
Why, boy, I have been one of the worst drunk- 
ards in the world, and now I am crazy for the 
liquor I have promised myself never to taste 
again. Like me ! Better crawl on your hands 
and knees as long as you live, than be like me ! ” 

For the moment Wirt was frightened at this 
outburst, but recovering himself, he said: 

“ I meant I never could walk as yoti do, but 
if I could go with only a cane, I wouldn’t mind 
for the rest. If I had two good feet and two 
good ankles, I think I could do almost anything, 
and now I mean to do all I can. There are only 
grandmother and I left, and we have had so 
much help, we are going to live now on just 
what we can earn, except what Grretchen does, 
and we pay her back all we can. 

“ She is good to everybody, and everybody 
loves her. She has had such a hard time, she 
knows how- to pity all the poor people. She is 
all alone, too, in the world, since her grandfather 
died, and she says she must be of use to some- 
body.” 

“ Who was her grandfather % ” was asked, 
without any especial motive, except to prolong 
the conversation. 

“His name was August Stagel,” replied Wirt. 


125 


Gretchens Pledge. 

“He was an old German, and he drank such lots 
and lots of beer it killed him. I don’t know as 
Gretchen was glad when he died, but she was 
better off without him,” continued the boy, un- 
mindful of the sudden flush overspreading his 
companion’s face. “She hates beer, and she 
has got a good many others to hate it too.” 

“ I suppose you hate it.” 

“ I do, and I have reason to. If it hadn’ t been 
for beer, my father would be alive now, taking 
care of grandmother and me. I never shall 
drink any as long as I live. I don’t knov/ how 
it tastes.” 

“ Don’t ever And out.” 

“ I never will. Of course I won’t. I have sign- 
ed Gretchen’ s pledge. Have you signed it ? ” 

“I have not seen it.’- 

“ I will bring it to you when she comes. She 
always carries it in the bottom of her basket, 
and sometimes she gets a new name every day.” 

At noon Gretchen came, bringing some berries 
as a treat for the Hallands and herself ; and 
when asked of her success, she had as usual a 
good report to make. 

“ I sold a basket of beans for Victor Chap- 
pelle, besides the fruit I had engaged ; and I am 
going to sell some more to-morrow. The market 
where he sells was so full they were not wanted, 


126 


The Winning Side. 

but my customers were glad of them. I was so 
glad I could do something for Victor.” 

“ How about the pledge ? ” 

“ Not a name to-day, but I am going out 
again, and perhaps I shall get one.” 

“The man that is splitting wood will sign,” 
said Wirt, who was interested in everything per- 
taining to Gretchen’s business. “ I will get his 
name for you if you will let me take the pledge.” 

“ Let him have some dinner first, with strong 
coffee ; so strong, he won’t want any other 
drink. Carry him a dish of blackberries, too, 
with his bread and butter ; and after that, you 
can ask him to sign the pledge. Ask him, too, 
to come and tell you every week whether he has 
kept his pledge. That will show him that you 
care about him, and it is the best thing in the 
world to feel that somebody human cares about 
you.” 

“I will ask him ; but where do yoii suppose 
he will go when he gets done with the wood ? 
Now, Mr. Twitchell and Mr. Barnaby are gone, 
it wouldn’t be safe to let him stay here to-night, 
if he was ever so clean ; because we don’t really 
know about him. I believe he slept on the straw 
in the barn last night. There was lots of straw 
on him, and his clothes are awful, anyway. His 
shirt is as ragged as his coat ; and I wish, grand- 


Gretchens Pledge. 127 

motlier, you would give him one of father’s 
shirts.” 

“You can give him one, if you wish to.” 

“ I will. I can take that with the pledge, and 
perhaps I can find out where he is going to- 
night.” 

The dinner was even better relished than the 
breakfast ; the coffee was stronger, and the ber- 
ries were delicious. The pledge and the shirt 
were presented in due time. A new name was 
added to the long list, and a poor man was en- 
abled to make himself more decent. 

When work was done, Mrs. Halland praised 
the diligence of the worker, and paid him what 
she would have paid any one else, although a 
protest was made against this. 

“If I am satisfied, you should not complain,” 
she said, with a smile. “ I have no more to be 
done, or I would hire you for to-morrow, but 
here is enough to keep you for a day, and to- 
morrow I think you can find work where new 
buildings are going up. Perhaps Gretchen can 
tell you the best place to look. She is coming 
now, and I will ask her.” 

Gretchen knew Just where it was probable he 
could find work. She had seen Mr. Chappelle 
superintending the tearing down of an old block, 
which was to be replaced by one larger and more 
elegant. Many men were at work under his di- 


128 


The Winning Side. 

rection, but sbe was sure there must be work 
for one more. So Mr. Wetherbee was encour- 
aged to try his fortune among others. 

If he had known that they who so generously 
helped him were friends of Arnot Slocum, he 
would have left them more reluctantly ; while 
if they had known him as one in whom their 
benefactor was deeply interested, they would 
not have allowed him to go out from them, not 
knowing whither he went. 

He had money to pay for a comfortable lodg- 
ing ; but this money saved would give him more 
for another day, and he resolved that it should 
be saved. He was so exhausted, he could sleep 
anywhere ; and the bed of straw was as free to 
him as it had been the previous night. 

Wirt suspected that he slept again in the 
barn, although he was up and away before any 
one in the house was astir. At that early hour 
he found means to enjoy a partial bath, and 
when ready to begin his search for work, his 
appearance was by no means wholly against 
him. 


CHAPTER XII. 


THE LITTLE CELLAR RESTAHEANT, 

The little cellar restaurant was op^n early ; 
there was a fire in the tiny stove behind the 
screen which divided the room, and water was 
already boiling for coffee. 

The proprietor of this cheap eating-room was 
a short hunchbacked man, who fancied he had 
here found his true vocation ; and with it an 
opportunity to do good work for some most 
needing it. His prices for food and drink were 
such as to bring them within reach of the very 
poor, and often he gave a satisfying meal to one 
who could make him no return. 

He was standing on one of the steps leading to 
his cellar, when he saw Prentiss Wetherbee 
coming down the street, looking this way and 
that, as if undecided in what direction to go. 

“Good morning, friend,” said Mr. Darcy, the 
hunchback. “This promises to be a fine day 
when the sun gets fairly shining, and the city 
wakes up. Not many have passed here yet, ex- 
cept milkmen and marketmen.” 

9 


(129) 


130 


The Winning Side. 

“You have your place open early.” 

“Yes, sir ; I like to be up before there is so 
much confusion. It seems a little more like the 
country, and I was brought up in the country. 
The air is cooler and fresher than it is after tlio 
pavements get hot and steaming.” 

“ The country is a good place.” 

“Yes, sir, it is ; and the city is a good place, 
too, for those who make it so. Place is pretty 
much what we make it, anyway.” 

“It looks so, sometimes, and then again it 
seems as though the place made everything 
wrong. But what can you do for a man who has 
no place at all ? ” 

“ I can give him a good breakfast for a small 
price.” 

“That is what I need.” 

“Then come in, friend, and I will soon have 
it ready.” 

“I want strong coffee.” 

“Strong coffee you shall have, with good milk 
and sugar ; bread, butter, and meat ; a turnover, 
too, if you care to pay three cents extra.” 

Everything was clean, wholesome, appetizing, 
and sufficient in quantity to satisfy a hungry 
man. 

“ Have you taken enough,” asked Mr. Weth- 
erbee, as he counted the change returned to 
him. 


The Little Cellar Restaurant. 13 1 

“I have taken all I should take from any one 
for what you have had,” was replied. 

“ And can you afford it 1 ” 

“Certainly I can, or I should not do it. I am 
earning my living here.” 

“ With only this one room % ” 

“I have a room above this for my bedroom 
and Sunday sitting-room. I always keep Sun- 
day in the old-fashioned way, and that gives me 
a good start for the week.” 

“Can I get dinner here at the same price I 
have paid for my breakfast 1 ” 

“Yes, sir ; or you can have soup with bread.” 

“I guess by the looks, you don’t have beer, 
or anything of that kind to sell.” 

“ You guess right. Why, friend, I wouldn’t 
be guilty of selling beer any sooner than I would 
sell other poison. It is a wicked thing to do, 
and a wicked thing to drink it.” 

“You are right. I know by experience how 
dreadful it is to drink that, as well as other 
liquors.” 

“ I thought so ; but I hope you have given it 
up.” 

“I have. I don’t know how I am going to 
fight it out with myself ; but I must, or die try- 
ing. I am going to look for some kind of work. 
I don’t care what it is, if I can be paid for it, 
and it don’t bring me where there is liquor.” 


132 


The Winning Side. 


“Then yon must go among temperance men.” 

“ I know I mnst, but it is hard to find a gang 
of men where they are all teetotallers.” 

Two men, dressed as common laborers, now 
came in, calling for breakfast, which they ate 
hurriedly, and paying the price, were soon gone. 

“You have made a good beginning for the 
day,” remarked the first customer, who waited 
for an opportunity to ask further questions. 

“Yes, very good,” was replied. “ Some days 
I am busy from morning till night, and then 
some days I have a good deal of leisure. A man 
can have three good meals with me, for less than 
a good many pay for the beer and tobacco they 
use in one evening. It is a wicked waste of 
what ought to buy comfort and rest for families 
who never know what it is to be comfortable. I 
have seen so much of it, that when I begin to 
talk about it I don’t know when to stop.” 

“ You never could come to the end of the mis- 
ery if you should talk all your life. But how 
long do you suppose it would take me to save 
six hundred dollars, if I should work as hard as 
I can, and live as cheap as I can ?” 

“I cannot tell you that. It would depend 
upon a good many circumstances.” 

“ I know it would, but I have got it to do, and 
I don’t know where I am to earn the first dollar. 
Good morning.” 


The Little Cellar Restatirant. 133 

Mr. Darcy served one meal after another all 
through the forenoon ; sometimes a cold lunch 
with a glass of water, and sometimes with coffee, 
always clear and strong. Boys and girls came 
in for turnovers ; some eating them there, and 
some carrying them away. Yet, busy as he 
was, he did not forget his early customer, whom 
he had helped far more than he knew. 

Soon after Prentiss Wetherbee left the cellar, 
Mr. Chappelle saw him sitting dejectedly upon 
a pile of lumber, and bade him good morning. 
He returned the greeting, adding : 

“I am looking for work, and I thought I 
might find it here.” 

“ What can you do ? ” asked Mr. Chappelle. 

“ Any thing not requiring skill,” was replied. 

“ I cannot work fast, but as I grow stronger I 
can do more, and I will do the best I can any 
time. I want to begin life over again.” This 
thought was uppermost in his mind, and there- 
fore it was often spoken. 

“ Has your life been unsatisfactory % ” 

“ Yes, sir ; it has been all wrong, but if it isn’t 
too late, I am going to improve upon it ?” 

“ With God’s help it is never too late to 
change a bad life. I think you can find work 
here as long as you do it honestly and well ; but 
we intend to employ no workmen who patronize 
beer or liquor saloons.” 


134 Winning Side. 

“ That is what I have determined never to do 
again. I must earn money to pay a debt I never 
ought to have owed.” 

“ What name shall I call you % ” 

“Prentiss Wetherbee, sir. It is a name I have 
disgraced, but I have never denied it.” 

Mr. Chappelle, who recognized this name, 
looked at the man sharply, wondering if there 
was enough of manhood left to redeem a mis- 
spent life. However appearances were against 
this, it was instantly decided that every possible 
help should be given to effect so desirable a re- 
sult. When the foreman of the job appeared, 
he was requested to furnish Mr. Wetherbee with 
work ; not expecting too much at first, and 
speaking an approving word whenever consis- 
tent. 

These suggestions would be faithfully follow- 
ed ; and if the first five hours of work were an 
earnest of what would follow, approval could 
not well be denied. At noon he went to Mr. 
Darcy’s cellar, tired and hungry, yet not dis- 
couraged. There, soup, bread, and strong coffee 
sufficed for his dinner, and he was back at work 
before any other man had returned. At night 
his wages were offered him, but he took only 
enough to provide for the next day. 

Thus he went through the week ; taking his 
meals in the little cellar restaurant, and sleeping 


The Little Cellar Restaurant. 135 

■under such shelter as he could find. "Where 
this was no one but himself knew. Mr. Chap- 
pelle saw him every day ; noting with pleasure 
the steady improvement in his looks, and man- 
ner of working. 

Up to Saturday evening, he had drawn but a 
small part of his wages, so that there was then 
due him quite a considerable sum. Of this, he 
proposed to invest one half in substantial cloth- 
ing, which he sadly needed. The remaining 
half would meet his expenses for the next week, 
and perhaps leave a little to be carried over. 

Mr. Darcy, who by this time knew much of 
his history, advised him to hire a room, which 
he could call home. This would need only the 
simplest furniture, to which he could add from 
time to time, as his means would allow. Indeed, 
a sack filled with straw, to serve him as a bed, 
would be a comparative luxury ; and this he 
bought, after hiring a comfortable room, the 
Tent of which he paid in advance. 

The Sabbath was a long day, shortened only 
by his visits to the restaurant, where he was to 
board permanently ; and where, for this reason, 
he was allowed to go. Some reading was given 
him, but he was too restless to read ; and more 
than once he ha If -resolved to throw up every- 
thing, and go back to his old ways. It seemed 
for the time, that nothing could be worse than 


136 The Winning Side. 

the maddening thirst which was consuming him, 
but a thought of Arnot Slocum, with all this 
friend had sacrificed for him, proved a powerful 
motive. In the evening Mr. Darcy came to his 
room, when both seated themselves upon the 
sack of straw, and talked until daylight was 
entirely gone. 

How he welcomed the morning, when he could 
resume work, and so in some degree conquer 
his restlessness. He remembered his promise to 
Wirt Halland, and reported himself as having 
kept his pledge inviolate. Gretchen learned, 
also, that he was working well, and giving satis- 
faction to his employer. 

“ He is only one, but if the angels rejoice over 
one sinner saved, why should not we?” she re- 
marked, with the quaint pronunciation and pe- 
culiar emphasis which always claimed the atten- 
tion of those to whom she was talking. 

“The world is made up of ones,” replied Con- 
stance Chappelle, who was strongly attracted by 
this German girl ; and who listened with interest 
to her description of Prentiss Wetherbee. 

“Yes, miss ; and the Heavenly Father counts 
each one separate, and so must we. I just try 
one at a time, except my boys in Sunday-school, 
and them I take in a lump. O, Miss Chappelle, 
if I was like you I could do a great deal more 


The Little Cellar Restaurant. 137 

good, but I am using my small one talent as well 
as I can.” 

“Gretchen does herself injustice,” said Con- 
stance to her mother, when the brave worker 
had left them. “ She is always bright, cheerful, 
and hopeful ; and she reaches a class of people 
not many others would attempt to reach. She is 
an exact business woman, too. Marvie Canning 
thinks she is wonderful.” 

“I guess she is wonderful,” exclaimed Vic- 
tor, who had heard this last remark. “ Why 
Gretchen does everything on the square, and 
she can sell more fruit than any man in the city. 
She has helped us ever so much about our gar- 
den. People' will buy of her who wouldn’t 
think of buying the very same things of us. 
She is worth more than a dozen like Agnes 
Hindman, and she would look as well, too, if 
she was only dressed up.” 

This provoked a smile from Mrs. Chappelle 
and her daughter, but Victor stoutly maintained 
his ground ; contending that Gretchen’ s hair 
was magnificent, and her eyes full of such a 
beautiful, loving light, “ that everybody who 
looked into them would know how good she 
was.” 

“You like Gretchen Stagel, and you don’t like 
Agnes Hindman. That makes all the difference 
in the world, in the way they look to you.” 


138 The Winning Side. 

“ I guess it does. Didn’t we meet Agnes 
Hindman yesterday, and didn’t slie turn lier 
head so not to speak to you, just because father 
has failed. Of course I don’t like her after 
that.” 

“ She did not injure me in doing that.” 

“I know it; but she showed her disposition, 
all the same. She thinks more of money than 
anything else ; and so does Claude, though he is 
civil enough to us now.” 

Victor Chappelle was quite right in his esti- 
mate of Agnes Hindman. To be rich and sty- 
lish was the height of her ambition ; and upon 
her return from school, she decided to ignore 
the existence of Constance Chappelle, so far as 
recognition was considered. This she had done 
on several occasions, but that her schoolmate 
was not forgotten, she proved in many ways. 
She described, with much embellishment, the 
formation of the temperance society, of which 
Miss Chappelle was president ; ridiculing it as 
absurd and insolent ; adding, as a final expres- 
sion of her sentiments : 

“I have too much respect for my father to 
condemn his business in that way. I believe in 
beer because he brews it, and I shall continue to 
believe in it, and drink it, too. I think Marvie 
Canning casts reproach upon her father by sign- 
ing the pledge.” 


The Little Cellar Restaurant. 139 

“Mr. Canning is all right,” responded Mr. 
Hindman, not quite sure that he cared for so 
hearty an endorsement by his daughter. “ Vinal 
is said to be rather fast, but as he grows older, 1 
presume he will settle down to be one of our 
solid business men.” 

“ Mr. Canning is very rich, isn’t he, father ? ” 

“ I suppose he is. His name is good for any 
amount, and he is considered the best judge of 
wines in the city. He is doing an enormous bus- 
iness.” 

“An honorable business, too, is it not, fa- 
ther?” 

“Certainly, my daughter.” 

“Then wine and beer are not the ruinous 
drinks some claim them to be. If they were, 
you would have been ruined long ago, father.” 

“ I am afraid I should. Of course they must 
be taken with discretion. Excess is to be avoid- 
ed in their use, as in everything else.” 

“And, father, every one must judge for him- 
self or herself, what constitutes excess.” 

“ That is my doctrine, Agnes.” 

“And mine, too. I am glad we are of the 
same opinion, and I shall trust your judgment 
rather than Mrs. Kempton’s. If the brewery 
makes yoTir fortune, we are not going to de- 
nounce it.” 

“ That would be bad policy.” 


140 The Winning Side. 

“I should think so. Another thing, father; 
if any one tries to force me into giving up what 
I have decided to do, it only makes me more de- 
termined to persevere. If I was in your place, I 
never would be driven by the fanatics. If there 
is anything I can do to help you, I will.” 

“ I hardly think I shall need your help, 
Agnes, but I am as determined as you are. My 
brewery will be run to its full capacity, and my 
beer will be sold at remunerative prices.” 


CHAPTER XIII. 


THE WATER STREET SALOON. 

“ Well, my daughter, your vacation is nearly 
over,” said Mr. Chappelle, the day before 
Constance was to leave home to take her 
place as teacher, in the school where she had 
ranked high as a scholar. “ It has not been just 
what I would have chosen for you, but your 
mother and I have enjoyed it ; and as for the 
'oys, they have spoken for themselves.” 

“I never enjoyed a vacation more,” she re- 
plied. “ I trust I have made myself useful in 
the family, and I am sure I have learned a great 
deal of what I was before ignorant. This is a 
pleasant home, in which ample justice has been 
done to good cooking. I don’t wonder Victor 
thinks we all have a craving for fresh vegeta- 
bles.” 

“He is no exception to the rule.” 

“He is a grand boy, father. Not better than 
Theron, but he usually comes to the front. 
They are good workers, too. They have sur- 
prised me every day. I would not have believed 
they could ever accomplish so much.” 

( 141 ) 


142 The Winning Side. 

“ They have surprised me, notwithstanding I 
expected they would do well. Their garden has 
added very materially to our resources for liv- 
ing, besides what they have sold. They have 
felt a responsibility for providing for them- 
selves, which will benefit them as long as they 
live.” 

“Then your failure will prove a blessing.” 

“ It may be a blessing to them.” 

“ Then it will be a blessing to the whole fam- 
ily ; for what blesses one blesses all. It would 
be pleasant to me to remain with mother, but in 
school I can earn more than enough to meet my 
expenses, and at the same time be constantly 
improving.” 

“ Earning enough to meet your own expenses 
is what troubles me, Constance. When I found 
that everything was gone, my sharpest regret 
was for the change it would bring to my wife 
and daughter. Now I have employment I can 
easily meet our family expenses, and I have con- 
fidence to believe that I shall sometime be inde- 
pendent again.” 

“ Of course you will, father. Not much 
money is needed for either happiness or inde- 
pendence. Another thing, I have not lost a 
single friend whose friendship I value.” 

“ Miss Hindman does not recognize you.” 

“No, sir ; but that does not trouble me. We 


The Water Street Salooft. 143 

have not many sympathies in common, and I 
never counted her in my list of friends. She is 
a talented girl, capable of doing good work, but 
she is considered purse-proud.” 

“ And now that my daughter’s purse is 
neither long nor well filled, she does not care 
for your acquaintance.” 

“Probably not, father. I suppose her father 
is sure to be a very rich man, but instead of 
envying her, I pity her. Mrs. Kempton does 
not know that she has beer in her room, but I 
believe she has ; and I have seen her when I 
thought she was under its influence. Of course 
I would not speak of it where it could possibly 
injure her.” 

“You can be trusted for that. If she could 
be persuaded to sign the pledge and join your 
society, a great deal would be accomplished. It 
would not only be a safeguard to her, but it 
might influence her father. They are said to be 
devoted to each other. He is very pro id of her, 
and denies her nothing.” 

“ He has reason to be proud of her. In school 
girl’s parlance, she is just splendid. In school 
she has been very popular with a certain set, 
but she is growing more overbearing and dicta- 
torial, and school girls soon rebel against that.” 

“ She is probably like her father. He never 
allows anything or anybody to stand in his way 


144 'The Winning Side. 

when he has once decided upon the accomplish- 
ment of a purpose. So long as he is sure of 
large profits, he will manufacture and sell beer ; 
even if he fully believed what we all know, that 
thousands are ruined by his business every 
year.” 

“ It is the money, father.” 

“ Yes ; that and the position money will give 
him. He has a certain influence, too, which he 
uses against every man he has reason to fear.” 

“ Has he reason to fear you % ” 

“ Only in a general way ; but I have no doubt 
he prevented my obtaining a situation I very 
much desired. It may prove to be for my bene- 
fit, but if I had been on his side of the temper- 
ance question, I should have secured the situa- 
tion. But, Con, I am talking to you as I do to 
your mother, when it seems only a few days 
since you were my little girl.” 

“Now I am your big girl, father, who thanks 
you for the compliment you have paid her. If 
I am ever as worthy of confidence as my mother, 
I shall have attained one of my ambitions.” 

“ I believe you will be, my daughter, and your 
mother is a noble woman. I should have been 
crushed by my loss of property if she had not 
been so brave and cheerful through it all. I de- 
pended upon her to decide what we should do. 
It has been a great grief to me to see her doing 


The Water Street Saloon. 145 

so much hard work, but she never complained.” 

“ She says the boys have helped her.” 

“They have; and while you have been at 
home you have done your full share of the work. 
The house must have seemed very small to you, 
Constance.” 

“It did, but everything was in such perfect 
order, and arranged with such perfect taste, that 
I soon became reconciled to the change. Tlie 
situation is pleasant, and if you owned the 
house and land I should consider ourselves far 
from being poor.” 

“ I hope to own them. I have the refusal of 
the purchase for two years, and by that time I 
shall be able to judge of my prospects. The 
man who stands strong for total abstinence and 
fights the liquor interest is liable to find his 
plans for business circumvented during the next 
few years ; but there will come a reaction, when 
the right is sure to prevail. There is a host of 
earnest workers in the field ; some talented and 
cultured, and some humble, and seemingly of 
little consequence. There is Gretchen Stagel, a 
poor German girl, with only the friends she has 
made by her kindness and honesty of purpose, 
doing a work of which anyone might be proud.” 

“ She is so unconscious, too, of doing anything 
remarkable, that she tells all about it with the 

utmost frankness. She is particularly anxious 
10 


146 The Winning Side. 

now to close up the saloon on Water Street, 
where her grandfather died.” 

“ That is beyond her. Hindman owns the 
house and the saloon ; and miserable as are his 
tenants, and many of his customers, he must 
make large profits on them.” 

“Gretchen says it is a dreadful place. She 
went into the house one day last week, and 
with her basket called at the different rooms. 
She did not expect to sell anything, but she 
asked all the same, and left a temperance leaf- 
let with every family.” 

“ If Hindman should know that he would in- 
sist upon having every leaflet burned.” 

“ Does he ever go there, father ? ” 

“ Probably not, but he has plenty of agents 
ready to do his bidding.” 

The policeman whose “beat” included Water 
Street and its immediate vicinity, had made 
frequent complaints of this saloon, until his 
complaints no longer received attention. At last 
he decided to resign ; not however without 
making one more effort to have the nuisance 
abated. 

“There is too much money behind it,” said 
Tom Lollard, who encountered the policeman as 
he was unloading some kegs of beer, and who 
expressed the greatest disgust with the premi- 
ses. “ Look at the women and children living 


The Water Street Saloon. 147 

’round here. Anybody can see that beer is 
plentier than bread.” 

“ Bread is terribly scarce, and there is hardly 
a night in the week when there isn’t a fight 
somewhere near here.” 

“And the owner of the saloon is responsible 
for a good deal of it. I am thankful to be able 
to say that I am nearly through with this busi- 
ness. This is my last round. I take my pay to- 
night, and that finishes my work for Hindman. 
I meant to give him a week’s notice, and was 
calculating to get a little more money ahead be- 
fore I quit ; but my children are wild about it, 
and I promised them this morning, that I would 
give up for good to-night. 

“ I have sworn off from beer and tobacco, and 
the sooner I get out of the smell of the brewery, 
the easier it will be for me. I don’ t wish Hind- 
man any evil, but I do wish he was obliged to 
live for a while as some of the families of his 
customers do.” 

“Tom Lollard going to leave ! ” exclaimed Mr. 
Hindman, when late that afternoon he was in- 
formed of his old employe’s decision. “ Send 
him to me.” 

“Yes, sir,” answered the clerk, who had re- 
ported the unwelcome news, and very soon Tom 
Lollard entered the private ofiice, where the 
brewer had remained beyond his usual time, to 


148 The Winning Side. 

write some letters he would not trust to anyone 
else. 

“How is this?” he asked. “I hear you are 
going to leave me.” 

“ I have left, sir.” 

“ What is the trouble ? ” 

“No particular troiible, only I made up my 
mind to try some other business.” 

“Want more wages ? ” 

“I want all I can get ; but that hasn’t any- 
thing to do with my making up my mind.” 

“ What did have anything to do with it ? ” 

“ Young Tom, and the beer catechism.” 

“Who is young Tom, and what is the beer 
catechism ? ” 

“ Young Tom is my boy. Perhaps I can’t 
rightly tell you about the catechism, but it is all 
against beer, and — ” 

“ That is enough. I thought you were a sen- 
sible man, but I was mistaken. You are pretty 
old to be studying a catechism. I got through 
with that when I was a small boy.” 

“ A small boy is studying it at our house, and 
he tells the rest of us about it. It is young Tom 
who is at it.” 

“ I suppose you will be coming ’round for your 
beer every day, the same as you have been,” 
said Mr. Hindman sneeringly. 

“No, sir; I shall not go anywhere for beer. 


The Water Street Saloon. 149 

I took my last glass a week ago, and Grod help- 
ing me, I shall drink no more.” 

“You have recited your lesson well, and yog 
can go. I have no further need of you.” 

“ Nor I of you, sir ; so we are quits,” and 
Tom Lollard went his way. 

The next day, when Mr. Colman made some . 
remark in regard to losing one of their best men, 
he was quickly silenced by his brother-in-law, 
who said ; 

“ I have heard enough of that. Tell me about 
the Water Street business.” 

“ That is going to suit you. Your man is sure 
to be appointed, and he is sure not to report a 
saloon where he gets his beer free, gratis, for 
nothing. It has cost something to get him there, 
and it wiU cost something to keep him there, 
but he will be your humble servant.” 

“ A good investment. We shall have no more 
trouble in that direction.” 

Mr. Hindman spoke confidently ; but truth 
to tell, he was sorely troubled. He had accom- 
plished his purpose in causing the resignation 
of a faithful officer, and so far as he could see, 
the outlook for his business was never more 
favorable, although he was well aware that there 
were forces at work he could neither stay nor 
control. 

He had contributed largely to the fund to be 


150 The Winning Side. 

used in the struggle to maintain an equality of 
rights, and every draft made upon him for this 
purpose was duly honored. When occasion de- 
manded, he insisted that beer was a temperance 
drink ; the manufacture and sale of which was a 
positive benefit to the community, by preventing 
the use of alcoholic liquors ; yet he made com- 
mon cause with distillers and liquor dealers of 
every grade. 

His brewery, now in process of erection, was 
often noticed in leading newspapers, and he al- 
ready had the reputation of being a “heavy 
man.” 

“ I wish Tolland had taken that job,” he said 
one day to Mr. Colman. “I don’t half believe 
in the thoroughness of the work, though I have 
no definite fault to find with it. Mr. Fife is too 
thirsty a man to suit me.” 

“ The workmen generally seem to be thirsty. 
I have noticed that, but I supposed beer was 
always free to all hands round the brewery.” 

“ It always has been, but I am thinking of 
shutting down on it. Work drags too much. 
It is possible to have too much of a good thing.” 

“ Shut down on free beer, and you will have a 
rebellion.” 

“I shall do as I please about it, rebellion or 
no rebellion.” 

Mr. Colman could not fail to see that the 


The Water Street Saloon. 151 

wealthy brewer was unusually disposed to fault 
finding ; but little did he think that the princi- 
pal cause for this was the presence in the city of 
a man doing the most humble work, and living 
in the plainest manner. 

Mr. Hindman had seen Prentiss Wetherbee 
when the latter looked at him steadily for a 
moment, without change of countenance to be- 
tray the fact of their acquaintance. 

He had believed that his wealth would build 
such a barrier between him and the past, that at 
the worst, he need only regard it as a time of 
unfortunate transactions. He had not thought 
it possible that the sins of his youth would rise 
up to condemn him. 

Now he would give half his fortune to know, 
beyond the possibility of a doubt, that Arthur 
and Anna Willett could never cross his path. 


CHAPTEE XIV. 


MISS ETTTH BATES. 

“ Heke is the money for your eggs, and Mrs. 
White wants every one you can send her,” said 
Parmer Jaquith to a tall, elderly woman, stand- 
ing at the door of a weather-beaten looking 
house. 

“Thank you for the trouble you have taken. 
I don’t know how I should get along if it wasn’t 
for you,” replied the woman. 

“Never mind the thanks, Euth. We are in 
this world to help each other, and my wife and 
I think you do more for us than we do for you. 
Anyway, we want you to call on us as often as 
you need us. I brought you something else, 
too. Here is a letter I giress came from Charles 
Hindman. I couldn’t very well help looking to 
see where it was mailed, though I don’t mean to 
pry into my neighbor’s business.” 

“No one can rightfully accuse you of that,” 
said Euth Bates, taking the letter, at which she 
glanced cxiriously, and then added : “It is from 
him ; I should know his writing anywhere. I 

( 152 ) 


Miss Ruth Bates. 


153 

wonder what he wants now. There is nothing 
more for him here.” 

This last was spoken in a low tone, which, 
however, was distinctly heard by her neighbor, 
although he made no reply. 

“ More mischief brewing,” he thought, as he 
drove on. “ Charles Hindman never wastes 
paper and ink on anybody unless he expects to 
gain something by it. Folks say he is a rich 
man, but I don’t envy him ; and I don’t believe 
my wife envies his wife, either. Once in his life 
he failed to be on the winning side.” 

Meanwhile, Euth Bates had seated herself in 
her favorite rocking-chair, and deliberately open- 
ed the letter, which was addressed to “My very 
dear aunt.” 

“We know better than that, don’t we ? ” she 
said, appealing to a large buff cat, who had 
curled himself up at her feet. “ He has cost me 
dear, but I would not change places with him.” 

The letter contained many apologies for 
seeming neglect. Business had engrossed his 
thoughts, too much to the exclusion of old 
friends, but his affection for her, and for the 
early home of his mother, was the same it had 
ever been. 

“No doubt of that,” she remarked bitterly, 
and read on. 

Lastly;, he inquired for some he had known in 


154 The Winning Side. 

his early manhood, closing the list with Arthur 
and Anna Willett. 

“Heard they were poor, and wants to help 
them ! Who made them poor ? If ever a man 
deserved to go to the State Prison, Charles Hind- 
man does ! though it is hard to say it of my own 
flesh and blood. Wonder what he has done with 
old Tom Lansing ? It don’ t seem as though he 
would commit murder, but when anybody gets 
to going as he did, you can’t teU where the stop- 
ping-place will be. 

“A check for fifty dollars to help me along ! 
I want none of your money, Charles Hindman. 
The way I look at it, it is blood-money. I took 
care of father and mother, and I have taken care 
of myself so far; and, with the Lord’s help, I 
can do it the rest of my life, can’t I, Buff?” 

For answer to this question. Buff purred, rub- 
bed himself against his mistress’ dress, finally 
springing into her lap and settling himself down, 
as much as to say, “You have one friend, Miss 
Ruth, who will never leave you.” 

It was long since she had allowed herself the 
luxury of tears, but now they were falling thick 
and fast. She was thinking of what life had 
been to her when she was young ; of the sister 
she had loved, and to whom, as her elder and 
superior, she had given a love which was well 
nigh worship. She thought of the simple pleas- 


Miss Ruth Bates. 


155 

ures and homely comforts she had then enjoyed 
without fear or anxiety for the future. 

Then there were lonely days, when the sister, 
lured by a voice which charmed her into loving 
a bold, bad man, left the old home and went 
forth, not knowing whither she went. All too 
soon she learned she had been cruelly deceived ; 
yet, with woman’s devotion, she clung to her 
husband until death claimed her. 

One child survived her, living with his father 
in various places and under varied conditions. 
When sixteen years of age his father’s death 
threw him upon his own resources, and he then 
accepted a home with his grandparents. Here 
he manifested nothing of the gratitude he should 
have felt for the kindness bestowed upon him. 
Indeed he was worse than ungrateful. He 
assumed an air of superiority to all about him. 
He was selfish, scheming, and untruthful ; yet 
he had a plausible manner when this suited his 
purpose, and a certain dash of style which at- 
tracted attention. Then, too, he had a fine 
figure, regular features, and was by some con- 
sidered handsome. 

The winning side was his side in all games 
and trades. His companions wondered how this 
was always accomplished, but if they presumed 
to remonstrate, they were told that it was of no 
use to fight against his luck. 


156 The Whining Side. 

When he reached his majority he left the 
small country town and went to seek his for- 
tune where there would be larger opportunities. 
No one, outside the family, dreamed of his 
demand for his mother’s portion of the property, 
but this demand was made and insisted upon 
until his grandfather yielded. Euth Bates did 
not know this until months after, when interest 
was to be paid upon a mortgage. 

“O, father, how could you do it?” she ex- 
claimed ; and the poor old man, broken by ill 
health, could only say : 

“I did it for Charles. He is going to pay me 
back when he gets started. I lent it to him to 
help him along.” 

“ Did he give you a note % ” 

“ No, but he promised fair.” 

Euth did not speak of this to her mother, who 
knew nothing of business, and could never be 
made to believe that Charles Hindman did not 
mean all right. As time went on, it was a grief 
to the old people that he did not visit them, but 
beyond this they had little concern, for Euth 
took care that the interest was promptly paid, 
while they lacked for no household comfort. 

She was glad that he did not come back to 
trouble them ; more glad, still, that the “ pretti- 
est girl in town,” had refused to correspond with 
him. Not so her mother, who said, one day : 


Miss Ruth Bates. 


157 

“If Anna Brown would marry Charles, it 
might be the making of him.” 

“More likely it would be the ruin of her,” 
answered Ruth. “If he ever marries, I hope 
his wife will be as heartless as he is. He is like 
his father in some things, though he means to 
be a rich man, and I presume he will be.” 

Maybe he will, I hope he will prosper. I wish 
I could see him once more ; but you were always 
hard on him, Ruth. He felt it, too, and per- 
haps that is why he stays away. He is a good 
deal better looking than Zenas Jaquith.” 

“ Zenas Jaquith is to be depended on any- 
where ; and a man who will do what he has for 
his mother, can be trusted to make a good hus- 
band.” 

“ He has been good to his mother, that we all 
know, but if Anna Brown marries him she will 
have to work hard.” 

“ Hard words have killed more women than 
hard work, that is my belief ; but never mind 
that now, i?; other. You and I better go to the 
orchard and see about the apples for Mr. White. 
He thinks our early apples are the best in 
town.” 

“They always were, and some way you man- 
age to get a good deal of money for them. We 
used to pick up what we wanted for ourselves, 
and then feed the rest out.” 


158 • The Winning Side. 

“That was when there was no market for 
them, mother ; but now there are so many city 
people boarding in town, it makes a difference.” 

“To be sure it does. Times have changed 
since your father and I came here to live.” 

Ruth Bates had accomplished her purpose, 
when her mother began to talk of the changed 
condition of the town and its inhabitants. So it 
was always when reference was made to Charles 
Hindman, from whom they heard only through 
others. 

Ruth was managing the farm, and he knew he 
had nothing to expect from her. She had been 
obliged to learn the details of farm manage- 
ment ; and do much of the out-door work, for 
years before her father’s death. He became 
almost helpless both in body and mind ; seldom 
leaving the house, and never interfering with his 
daughter’s plans. At length he died, and his 
death was quickly followed by that of his wife. 

He left no will, and as bills had accumulated 
during the last month, she desired Zenas 
Jaquith to attend to their settlement. She had 
another reason, too, for this, and her friend ac- 
cepted the trust. It was then, that, for the first 
time, she told what her father had done to raise 
money for her nephew. 

“I always wondered about that mortgage, but 
I never thought of Charles,” was replied. “He 


Miss Ruth Bates. 


159 

had no legal claim on the property as long as 
your father lived.” 

“I know that, and if I had been consulted, 
he should never have had it.” 

“You don’t suppose he will put in a claim 
now, Ruth?” 

“ I presume he will.” 

“And you have nothing to show for the 
money he has had V’ 

“Nothing. Father told me about it, and 
mother said she signed the mortgage, to help 
Charles. Now I wish to have land enough sold 
to pay all the bills, and then I am going to see 
what I can do for myself right here in the old 
place. If Charles Hindman makes any claim, I 
suppose it will have to be allowed.” 

“If he does, he is a meaner man than I have 
given him credit for. Unless he is belied, he 
has engaged in some pretty crooked transac- 
tions, but I don’t like to think he would rob you, 
after all that has been done for him here.” 

Ruth Bates had not done her nephew injus- 
tice ; for no sooner was notice given that an ad- 
ministrator of his grandfather’s estate had been 
appointed, than an attorney presented his claim 
to one-half of whatever there might be. When 
told that this claim had been made, and honor- 
ed, years before, the gentleman demanded proof 


i6o The Winning Side. 

of the same, and as this could not be furnished, 
no resistance was made. 

It was a terrible injustice, but there seemed 
no escape from it, and the small patrimony was 
again divided, leaving Ruth Bates with little more 
than a roof over her head. After the final set- 
tlement, in a letter to his aunt, he had attempted 
some justification of his conduct, and from that 
time, until the day when Zenas Jaquith brought 
the letter containing a check for fifty dollars, 
she had received no communication from him. 

Through these years she had earned for her- 
self a comfortable support ; saving a little, also, 
for the time when she might be unable to work. 
Everything had prospered in her hands. Her 
chickens were the plumpest, her eggs freshest, 
her apples earliest, and her berries most deli- 
cious; Her butter was the sweetest, and her 
Dutch cheeses most toothsome. All who knew 
her respected her, and there was not a person in 
town who would not gladly do her a kindness. 

She knew that her nephew was doing a large 
business, and living in elegant style ; but, in 
addition to this, she knew that his business was 
ruinous to others. There was only one thing for 
her to do. She must return the check he had 
sent her. She enclosed it in an envelope and 
directed it to his place of business. 


Miss Rtith Bates. i6i 

“I can’t write a single word to Mm, can I?” 
she said, again appealing to Buff. “I don’t 
thank him for anything, and I won’t tell him I 
do, ’though I try to forgive him. I don’t know 
exactly where the Willett children are, and if I 
did, I wouldn’t tell him. If he drags Arthur 
down it sha’n’t be my fault. Wonder if I ought 
to tell Zenas about it, and see if he can do any- 
thing for them. I will pray and sleep over it ; 
and then see what answer the Lord will give me 
in the morning.” 

Many times in her life she had reached this 
same conclusion, and always, as she believed, 
some token had been given her to point the way 
in which she should go. She went about her 
usual work for the evening, and later, when a 
young man from a neighboring farm came in to 
spend the night, that she might not be alone in 
.the house, she read a chapter from the Bible, 
and prayed for light and guidance. The next 
morning her way was plain before her. 

“Do you know where the Willett children 
are?” she asked her neighbor, whom she found 
busily at work. 

“Yes, I do. I heard from them last week, 
and— ’ 

“Don’t tell me,” she said, cutting short the 
reply to her question. “ Charles Hindman in- 
11 


i 62 


The Winning Side. 

quired for them in the letter yon brought me yes- 
terday, and he sent me a check for fifty dollars. 
You can put those two things together as well as 
I can, and if you know how to keep Arthur out 
of his way, I hope you will do it. I always 
thought Ben Willett had a good deal of money 
that ought to come to his children.” 

“ I know he had, and I know as well as I 
know anything I don’t see, that if he had been 
sober and in his right mind, he never would have 
made such a will as was probated.” 

“ Is old Tom Lansing alive ? ” 

“ I think he is, and, if so, he is the man who 
could tell the truth about that business. He 
has been confined in an insane asylum for seve- 
ral years. In fact, he was entered there about the 
time Ben Willett died. He was very peculiar 
and very dissipated, but I never believed he was 
insane. 

“Within a year a new physician has taken 
charge of the asylum, and he has been allowed 
to leave. I have heard of him wandering about 
the country, and working enough to pay for the 
food he eats, but refusing to taste of any kind 
of liquor. I only heard this a day or two ago.” 

“ I wish he would come this way.” 

“I wish he would. They say he asks every- 
body where Ben’s children are.” 


“ I wish I never had heard anything about 
them, and then I shouldn’t have worried over 
them. But I knew their mother when she was 
a girl, and that made me think more about them 
after their father died.” 


CHAPTER XV. 


A GREAT MISTAKE. 

By this time Gretchen Stage!’ s good-natured, 
rosy face was familiar to every man employed 
in or about the brewery. Among them she 
found many customers ; seldom meeting one 
without having her basket lightened and her 
purse made heavier. 

Mr. Hindman often bought of her, but the 
money received from him was put carefully by 
itself and devoted to charity. It was a matter 
of principle with her to share in no part of his 
profits. After becoming acquainted with his 
tenants on Water street, most of this money was 
appropriated to their benefit, and of this the 
larger part was given to the children. 

She carried them food, such as they would not 
otherwise have, only stipulating, as they gath- 
ered around her, that they should come with 
clean hands and clean faces. With the food she 
distributed tracts, leaflets and papers ; such as 
would attract the attention of older people, as 
well as children. Cards and illuminated texts 

( 164 ) 


A Great Mistake. 165 

were given them from time to time, and when 
she had the confidence of the poor people, she 
went there on Sunday afternoons, and read and 
talked to them. 

At first the women and children met her in an 
open hall at the head of the stairs, where, neces- 
sarily, there were many interruptions. Later, 
the men stood where they could hear her, and 
all listened attentively. Not one word did she 
say in condemnation of their habits. Making 
no reference to what was wrong, she endeavored 
to lead them in the right way ; telling them of 
Christ who died for them and was risen again, 
that they, too, might rise to a higher and better 
life. 

These rough men and ignorant women did not 
resent her presence, working woman, as she 
was, earning her living in an humble way, and 
accustomed to the privations of poverty. The 
time had not come to ask for signatures to her 
pledges, but her influence was soon apparent, in 
a decreased expenditure for beer and stronger 
drinks. 

There was less quarrelling, fewer angry words 
in the house, while some efforts were made in 
the way of cleanliness. Cards and papers must 
be kejjt tolerably clean ; bright colored texts 
hardly suited dingy walls and dust-covered win- 
dows. 


i66 


The Winning Side. 

The saloon keeper became aware of the change 
thus gradually wrought. He had no lack of 
customers, but the house did not patronize him 
as liberally. Battered tin pails did not appear 
so often in the hands of children waiting to have 
them filled. 

“ That German girl is taking trade away from 
you, and giving it to the baker and butcher,” 
said an old man, who came every day to the 
saloon for two glasses of beer, which he drank 
while eating some slices of stale bread. “I 
knew her grandfather, and he ought to have had 
a good deal of money to leave her. He knew all 
about brewing, and he started Hindman in the 
business ; but he never got any of the profits, 
unless it was a few dollars a month after Hind- 
man dismissed him. There can’t anybody have 
a face to find fault with that girl; but she 
preaches temperance louder than any minister in 
the city. She hates beer, and I don’t know as I 
blame her. It kept her grandfather poor as 
long as he lived, and finally killed him, here in 
this room.” 

“ She never talks about beer,” said a poor 
woman, who had entered the saloon just in time 
to hear this last remark. “ She only tells us to 
be good, and helps us plan, so as to make a little 
money buy a good deal of comfort. That is the 
way she talks, and she plans for us, so we can 


A Great Mistake. 


167 


save something for a rainy day. But I never 
heard her say a word against drinking beer. Of 
course, when we stop to think about it, we know 
if we spend our money for beer, we sha’n’t have 
it to buy other things.” 

“That is just as true as you live,” rejoined 
the old man. “ There are other things, too, in 
the world, that are a good deal more needed. 
It is something folks can do without, if they 
don’t get used to it, as I have.” 

“I wish I wasn’t used to it,” said the woman, 
looking at the money in her hand ; and after a 
moment’s silence she turned and left the saloon. 

The agent who attended to renting the house 
on Water street, spoke of the improved appear- 
ance, when making his monthly returns to Mr. 
Hindman. 

“There has been such a cleaning up, you 
would hardly know the place ; and now the 
women want some whitewashing done. They 
want paint and paper, too.” 

“Can’t afford it,” was the rep^y to this state- 
ment. “No use in spending money on such a 
house as that. It will look just as bad in a 
month.’ 

“ I don’t quite think so, Mr. Hindman. It 
wouldn’t cost much to whitewash, and the walls 
are very black. Let the painting wait for the pre- 
sent, and see how they hold out in keeping clean.” 


i68 


The Winning Side. 

“Well, use your own judgment about it, but 
I never thought the old house worth spending 
much money on. You say things are improving 
there V 

“Yes; I never saw the rooms or the tenants 
looking as clean as they do now.” 

“ I am glad they are doing better, but you 
can’t expect much of such poor wretches. They 
must live somewhere, and I suppose I may as 
well find shelter for them as anybody. How 
would it do to come up a little on the rent, 
enough to pay for what extra you do ? ” 

“ I don’ t think it would do at all. The house 
is paying a heavier rent now than any other 
building you own, considering its accommoda- 
tions, and I shouldn’t want to be the one to try 
collecting any higher rates.” 

“No use in being soft-hearted, Wyman. 
Every man must look out for himself, and get 
the most he can.” 

“ Wouldn’t you qualify that a little, Mr. 
Hindman?” 

“Let every one qualify it to suit himself. That 
is the way I have done, and come out on the 
winning side, so far.” 

This was said confidently, but the speaker 
experienced something like a twinge of con- 
science, as the words passed his lips. It was 
not really his conscience, however, which trou- 


A Great Mistake. 169 

bled bitn, so mucli as his sense of failure in cer- 
tain efforts he had made. 

He was terribly angry when his aunt had re- 
turned the check sent to her, without a word of 
comment, and yet he could not blame her. He 
admitted to himself that he had acted both 
meanly and dishonestly in taking what right- 
fully belonged to her. He was now willing to 
make some amends for this, if he could do it in 
such a way as to win honor to himself. 

He was desirous of political preferment, both 
to gratify his ambition and afford him an oppor- 
tunity for exerting a more powerful influence 
for the protection of the liquor interest. To ac- 
complish this he was willing to pay liberally, 
and looked about him for the best place of in- 
vestment. 

His mother’s native town was hundreds of 
miles away, in a different State, but a gift be- 
stowed upon the town for the general benefit of 
its inhabitants would be duly chronicled, and 
so bring him before the people in a new role. 
He could count upon every liquor organ in the 
country to sound his praises, while hosts of 
other journals could easily be induced to give a 
flattering notice of his generosity. 

It was partly with this object in view that he 
wrote to his aunt, hoping to secure her favor, 
which would be greatly to his advantage. Al- 


170 The Winning Side. 

thougli she had never written to him, he knew 
how she had worked and economized to keep 
her home. He knew, too, in what esteem she 
was held by her neighbors. 

“ I must see Munson,” he said to himself, 
the evening after his conversation with his agent 
in regard to the Water street house ; and later 
he rang for admittance at the door of a small 
cottage, quite outside the business part of the 
city. 

“Good evening, Munson,” he said to a man 
who opened the door and looked at him as if 
surprised. “ As you have quite forsaken me, I 
thought I would hunt you up, and a fine chase 
I have had of it.” 

“ I changed my place when I got married,” 
replied Mr. Munson, a little coldly. 

“ Married ! Are you married ?” asked Charles 
Hindman, glancing, perhaps involuntarily, at 
the misshapen feet of the man before him. 

“I suppose you wonder any woman would 
marry me, but I have a good woman for my 
wife, and we are living happily in our own hired 
house, we expect sometime to pay for and own 
without hiring. But walk in, Mr. Hindman. 
We have nothing elegant, but we can give you 
a chair,” said Mr. Munson, as if just then mind- 
ful of his want of courtesy. 

This invitation being accepted, Mr. Hindman 


A Great Mistake. 


171 

was introduced to a plain-looking woman, wlio 
met him courteously, although she seemed by 
no means impressed with his superiority. 

“No use to think of going any further here,” 
thought the visitor, as he noted the thin lips 
and well-set head of Mrs. Munson. 

“Have you heard from the old town?” he 
asked, at once. 

“Yes, I have,” was replied. 

“ And are our friends all well ? ” 

“ I think so. The old town is prospering, too. 
Perhaps you know that Zenas Jaquith has been 
chairman of the board of selectmen for two 
years. He is doing well for the town and mak- 
ing himself i)opular at the same time.” 

“Is he ? That is good news. I always 
thought he was an honest, reliable fellow, but 
not one to make his way in the world, as some 
others would. I suppose he is a good farmer ? ” 

“ He is, and he makes farming pay. He helps 
others, too, and it wouldn’t be strange if he 
should get to be a leading man in that part of 
the State.” 

“That would be quite an honor to the old 
town.” 

“ It would, and one the people would appreci- 
ate. The old town has changed since we were 
boys. There are a great many boarders from 
the city there every year, leaving their money. 


172 The Winning Side. 

and making a market for what the farmers raise. 
I have told ray wife about the hills and ponds, 
and some time I intend to take her there to 
see them. I used to think I never wanted to 
go there again. To tell the truth, I was ashamed 
of myself, and glad to keep away from every- 
body who knew me before I became a drunkard. 
Now, since I have sworn oflf from drinking, and 
got a good wife to keep me on the right track, I 
feel different about it, ’though I shall always be 
ashamed of having been a drunkard.” 

“ That is a hard name to call one’s self.” 

“It is one I deserve, but, please God, lam 
now a drunkard reformed. That reminds me, Mr. 
Hindman, of another reformed man. Old Tom 
Lansing has been pronounced sane, and dis- 
charged from the asylum, where a good many 
think he never ought to have been for a single 
day.” 

As this was said, the visitor gave a perceptible 
start, while his face flushed and paled in rapid 
succession ; yet, with a strong effort he control- 
led himself, and responded : 

“ Why, the man was mad as mad could be. 
He was always imagining that somebody was 
being abused ; and, besides, he was one of the 
worst drunkards I ever saw. If it was my place 
to give an opinion, I should say he ought to 
have been shut up years before he was.” 


A Great Mistake. 


173 


“You may know more about it than other 
people, Mr. Hindman, but it is the general 
opinion that some one had an object to gain by 
his confinement.” 

“ What object could be gained in that way % 
He had no property, and no friends, that I ever 
heard of.” 

“ He was Ben Willett’s uncle.” 

“I know he was, but Ben regarded him as I 
did. In fact, the most I knew of him was what 
Ben told me.” 

“ I have heard there was some trouble between 
them the last of Ben’s life.” 

“ I think there was, and after Ben died, he 
had all sorts of strange ideas. He imagined 
there was an immense fortune somewhere for 
Ben’s children.” 

“ Other people supposed Ben Willett to be 
quite a wealthy man ; but, of course, you know 
all about that.” 

“I ought to know ; but can you tell me where 
his children are, now? I heard in a rounda- 
bout way, not long ago, that Arthur was doing 
badly, and Anna was supporting him and her- 
self by sewing. I was very sorry to hear such a 
report, and if I knew how to reach them I would 
gladly give them assistance. I wrote to them a 
few weeks ago, addressing the letter to the town 
where I last heard of their being, but they must 


174 Winning Side. 

have moved, as the letter was returned to me. 
But I must come to the business which brought 
me here. I am in want of a man to do some 
extra writing for me, and I thought if you were 
not engaged, I might secure your services.” 

“ Thank you, Mr. Hindman, but my time is 
all occupied.” 

“ Then I must look further ;” and after some 
conversation, awkwardly sustained by both par- 
ties, the brewer took his leave, conscious that 
in calling upon Mr. Munson, he had made one 
of the greatest mistakes of his life. 

When Tom Lansing’s name was mentioned he 
had betrayed himself, while he had learned 
nothing which could in any way benefit him. 
It was strange that the Willett children should 
have so many friends in the old town ; stranger, 
still, that so many whom he had known in dif- 
ferent places, and under varied circumstances, 
should manifest such an interest in their wel- 
fare. 

“What if — ?” But he would not indulge 
the thought that after so many years his “luck” 
could desert him. 

If Munson was unmarried, something might 
be hoped from him. But there was a woman to 
be considered, and Mr. Hindman was fast learn- 
ing that woman's influence is a powerful factor 
in the world. 


CHAPTER XYI. 


THE brewer’s triumph. 

Through the summer and early autumn, 
work had been pushed on the new brewery by 
Mr. Hindman, while it seemed to him that the 
men employed on it moved slowly, caring only 
for their wages, and the rations of beer allowed 
them. He knew full well that the more beer, 
the less work, and was many times tempted to 
say this ; but remembering the oft-repeated as- 
sertion that beer is the working-man’s friend, 
keeping the system up to its best condition, he 
decided that silence would be more to his ad- 
vantage. 

He had a natural aptitude for all mechanical 
work ; and having made himself thoroughly 
familiar with the improvements to be introduced 
in his new establishment, he was able to give 
them intelligent supervision. He took pride in 
exhibiting them ; descanting upon their merits, 
and praising the quality of the beverage to be 
manufactured. 

“ I shall spare no expense in any part of its 

preparation,” he said to a gentleman, who was 

( 175 ) 


176 


The Winning Side. 

making the rounds with him. “ I intend to give 
my customers a pure, healthy drink.” 

“ That is what your customers need,” was re- 
plied. “ Your business is getting to be a heavy 
business in the country.” 

“Yes, sir ; but I venture to predict that in ten 
years from now it will have more than doubled.” 

“Before that time it will have been proved 
whether, on the whole, the consumption of so 
much beer is for the benefit of the country. 
There are two sides to the question, as I suppose 
you will admit.” 

“ I know we brewers have encountered a good 
deal of opposition, but I claim that it is without 
reason. The men and women who are loudest in 
condemning beer have no personal experience 
of its use.” 

“ That may be, Mr. Hindman. I am not con- 
demning yonr business, only referring to what 
you already knew.” 

“I know another thing, too. We are bound 
to win in the end ; if money, pluck, and perse- 
verance will carry us through. We shall leave 
no stone unturned to effect this, and it has al- 
ways been a favorite theory with me, that if a 
man has health, sense, and judgment, he can get 
about what he chooses in the world. He can get 
money if he is willing to work for it, and put 
everything else one side.” 


'The Brewer s Triumph. 177 

“ Is tliafc what you started to do, Mr. Hind- 
man?” 

“ It is, and so far, not many opportunities 
have slipped through my fingers.” 

“You are to be congratulated if you have 
never been disappointed. Most of us find some 
of our best laid plans completely frustrated.” 

“ I know that is so, but I still hold to my the- 
ory. Of course, there must be shrewd calcula- 
tion, and a careful consideration of possibilities. 
Then a man may safely count on success. A 
long look ahead pays in every case.” 

No one insisted more strongly upon the neces- 
sity of this than did Mr. Hindman. He was al- 
ways on the alert to detect the slightest infiuence 
which might work against him in the future. 
For months he had been planning and scheming 
to gain the greatest advantage from the fall elec- 
tions, and as the time for these elections drew 
near, he investigated the record of candidates 
most prominently before the public. 

Mr. Chappelle had many friends who proposed 
to bring him forward, and no one could say 
aught against him ; but the whole liquor interest 
would be menaced by his election, and that was 
sufiicient reason why many would oppose him. 

“He will be a strong candidate,” remarked 
Mr. Col man. “There is not a man in the city 

better qualified for the position.” 

12 


lyS The Winning Side. 

“ There is not a man in the city who is a great- 
er fanatic, ’ ’ responded Mr. Hindman. ‘ ‘ Give him 
the power, and he would close every saloon, and 
shut up every brewery and distillery in the 
country. He would bring everybody down to a 
cold water diet. He is the last man I would vote 
for. I.shall vote for the man who runs against 
him ; no matter what he is.” 

“ For some reasons, I should hate to see him 
defeated ; but business is business.” 

“ I am glad you have come to that conclusion. 
Half-hearted work don’t count for much, any- 
where. Go in for what you are doing with 
might and main, and you stand a fair chance to 
accomplish something worth while. Chappelle 
will fight our business, and that is reason enough 
why we should fight him.” 

Mr. Chappelle was nominated for office, and to 
oppose him there was nominated a man without 
education or moral principle ; but who was 
sworn to protect the liquor interest. 

“ Give me money enough, and I will beat the 
other side to death,” he said boastingly, and the 
money was forthcoming. 

Every saloon in the ward was visited, and a 
certain amount deposited to pay for free drinks. 

“ Look sharp that your men vote the right 
ticket,” was the injunction given ; always with 


The Brewer s Triumph. 179 

the comment : “We are going to have a hard 
fight, and we can’t afford to be beaten.” 

It was not a struggle for supremacy between 
the Christian gentleman and an ignorant infidel ; 
else would the Christian have come off victori- 
ous. It was a struggle between the friends of 
temperance, and the friends of liquor ; and to 
the city's shame, the former were defeated. 

“The man who was opposed to Chappelle, and 
who is declared elected, is vulgar and coarse to 
the last degree ; no more fit to hold the office 
than a gutter drunkard,” said one. 

“He represents the gutter drunkards, who all 
voted for him,” was replied. “ It took a large 
amount of liquor to carry him through ; and if, 
added to that, there v/as not a host of frauds, 
those who managed the affair are better than I 
give them credit for being. Hindman pulled the 
wires, and thought he was smart enough to keep 
his hands out of sight ; but everybody knows 
where they were. He seems to have a spite 
against Chappelle, but his turn will come. The 
tables will be turned. You know Chappelle is 
finishing up his law studies, and he is a most 
effective speaker. He can talk on time, or 
against time, as occasion demands ; and he is a 
man who will have influence with a jury. He is 
bound to become more and more popular, and 


i8o The Winning Side. 

tMs defeat will liurt some one else more than it 
will hurt him. 

“ He has a fine family, too. His wife is a lady 
in the best sense of that word ; and with his 
children, any man ought to count himself rich. 
Hindman’s wife is a showy woman, and some 
would call her handsome, but she is not to be 
compared with Mrs. Chappelle.” 

“How does Chappelle take his defeat?” 

“I have not seen him manifest any feeling 
about it, although he knows he has been treated 
unfairly. He is a man to stand by his convic- 
tions, and take the consequences without com- 
plaining.” 

Perhaps none were more disappointed at the 
result of the election, than Mrs. Halland and 
Gretchen Stagel. They had counted so much 
upon Mr. Chappelle, whom they expected to 
work wonders. 

“ It leaves the more for you to do,” said the 
dear old lady to Gretchen, who reported what 
had been done. “The men must have better 
principles before they will vote right, and there 
is nothing like the Bible for bringing them 
’round.” 

“ It is so little I can do, and there is so much 
needing to be done,” responded the poor 
girl. 

“I know it, child, but the Lord is on your 


The Brewers Triumph. i8i 

side ; so that they who be for you, are more than 
they who be against you.” 

“But, Mrs. Halland, I am near to being dis- 
couraged when I see so many men staggering, 
and some of my Water street men, too ; besides 
the women drinking beer because it was free for 
all.” 

“ I am sorry for you and them, Gretchen, but 
the only way is to start over again. I expected 
how it might be from what Mr. Yolsen said, but 
I hoped you would find things better than he 
feared. He said it was all Mr. Hindman’s work, 
too, to beat Mr. Chappelle ; and he was so 
ashamed, he was going to sign your pledge the 
very first time he sees you.” 

“Then I hope he will see me soon. Mr. Hiud- 
man is — but I won’t call him a wicked man. I 
will just leave him to God, though it is many a 
trouble he has brought to me and my Water 
street people.” 

The trouble on Water street was so apparent 
that even the policeman, who had before been 
blind to every irregularity, said to the man be- 
hind the bar : 

“You must hold up here for a while, till the 
storm blows over. There is too much talk. We 
carried our man over everything, but there are a 
good many watching for a chance to trip us up.” 

“Let them watch. I don’t care for them. 


1 82 The Winning Side. 

We have law on our side,” was replied reck- 
lessly. 

“But there is a law against selling to minors, 
and there will be an effort made to enforce the 
law.” 

“All right. Let them enforce. I am not re- 
sponsible. I obey orders, and leave the conse- 
quences to somebody else. I have heard about 
that law, but I never heard that anybody was 
called to account for breaking it.” 

“You may hear of it in future, and at any 
rate, I advise you to be careful. There comes a 
child now, with a pail. She has just come down 
the stairs.” 

“ And there comes Gretchen Stagel, so there 
are ten chances to one that the girl don’t get in 
here.” 

“ O, Miss Gretchen, I didn’t want to come, but 
I had to ! ” the child cried, clinging to the hand 
of her friend. “ Father sent me. He said it 
didn’t make an^ difference about what I prom- 
ised. I must do as he told me.” 

“And so you must, dear, but I will see your 
father,” responded Gretchen, and mounting the 
stairs, she rapped at the door of a back-room, 
when a woman’s voice bade her come in. 

“Ah-, Miss Gretchen, it is glad I am to see 
you. We have started to the bad again. Here 
is my man back to his beer, wasting his money, 


The Brewers Triumph. 183 

and sending Lucy to the saloon. No use in 
shaking your head, for I won’t stop,” continued 
the woman, looking defiantly at her husband. 
“It was the voting that did it, when beer was 
free as water, and every man had his price.” 

Gretchen had. no time to reply to this, before 
the child came rushing in, exclaiming ; 

“It is against the law. It is against the law 
to sell to children. The saloon man said so, 
and I am a child. So I brought back the 
money,” 

Words then seemed superfluous, and the inci- 
dent was trusted to produce its own impression. 
The “saloon man” had no intention of honor- 
ing the law which had been so long a dead letter, 
but for this once it pleased him to deny the 
child ; and as a consequence, money was saved 
for bread. 

Mr. Hindman’s triumph — for it was really his 
— was not all he had expected. There were ru. 
mors afloat which seriously annoyed him. The 
better class of the city papers denounced the 
manner in which the election was carried ; call- 
ing attention to the fact that a large amount of 
drunkenness was reported for the day. 

The leading article in one of the most influen- 
tial journals was a comment upon the condition 
of a city, where a gentleman whom everybody 
respected, both for his integrity and intelligence. 


184 The Winning Side. 

was defeated by a vulgar, ignorant fellow ; 
whose only recommendation to favor, is his in- 
tense hatred of any measure looking to the con- 
trol or suppression of the liquor traffic. 

“Votes were bought by scores. There is no 
doubt of it. There is no doubt, either, that a 
wealthy brewer furnished free beer for the 
crowd in the ward where the fight waged the 
hottest. In view of all this, which no responsi- 
ble man will attempt to deny, is it not time that 
all good citizens unite against a monopoly which 
more than all others, threatens to subvert our 
free institutions ? ” 

The question was pertinent, the suggestion 
wise, and the comments just. No names were 
called, so there could be no suit for libel; but 
the editorial made a strong impression. 

Mr. Hindman read it with mingled feelings of 
rage and mortification. He knew that he had 
made himself unpopular, and lost far more than 
he had gained. 

As for the league about to be formed, he ex- 
pressed a decided opinion that it was unnecessary 
and undesirable ; adding : 

“If the laws are not what they should be, im- 
prove them; if they are all right, enforce them.” 

“ In enforcing them, can we count on your co- 
operation? ” asked the gentleman with whom he 
was discussing the obnoxious editorial. 


The Brewers Triumph. 185 

“I consider myself a law-abiding citizen,” he 
replied, evasively. 

“I should be sorry to think you other- 
wise, Mr. Hindman. Law-defying citizens are a 
curse to the country, but I am of the opinion 
that several laws were defied on the day of our 
late election. If everything had been done on 
the square, Mr. Chappelle could not have been 
defeated. He is a man above suspicion; a 
Christian, a gentleman, and a scholar.” 

“ He is all that. No one has more respect for 
Mr. Chappelle than myself, although of course 
I think he errs in judgment on certain mat- 
ters.” 

“That is to be expected; but Mr. Chappelle 
will doubtless be president of our league for the 
maintenance of law and order.” 

Ten minutes after this was said, the speaker 
asked the question of another ; 

“How much do you suppose it cost Hindman 
to defeat Chappelle? ” 


CHAPTER XVII. 


HELPING ALL AROUND. 

“A STRIKE in Hindman’s brewery; not for 
wages, but for beer.” 

This was tbe cry of the newsboys which made 
a large sale for their papers; so that they were 
able to indulge in a good supper that winter’s 
night. The article of which the first paragraph 
was shouted through all the principal streets of 
the city, was short and comprehensive. 

Mr. Hindman wished to treat his workmen 
liberally, but believing as he did that excess in 
the consumption of either food or drink is in- 
jurious, he had at last decided upon energetic 
measures. 

“At this rate, there is no telling where the 
abuse will stop,” he had said, after witnessing 
some disgraceful manifestations. “I may as well 
shut down now as any time, and if there is to be 
a strike, the sooner it comes the better.” 

So the strike had come; but the results threat- 
ened to be so serious, that after a few days the 

brewer was ready to compromise. After much 
( 186 ) 


Helping all Around. 


187 


discussion, and many proposals which were 
summarily rejected, the strike was finally settled. 
Each employee was limited to fifteen glasses of 
beer per day, to be served at five different times, 
three glasses at a time. 

“ If a man is not satisfied with that, he must 
have an inordinate love for beer,” was the gen- 
eral comment, when this result was made public. 

“ Fifteen glasses a day; ” was exclaimed again 
and again by those who had no true conception 
of a beer drinker’s capacity ; while many added, 
“No wonder so called working men find it hard 
to support their families, if they drink beer at 
such a rate. Better take whiskey and have an 
occasional drunk, than be forever pouring five 
cents down one’s throat.” 

“ What would you think of thirty glasses \ ” 
asked a gentleman, to whom a remark of this 
kind had been made. 

“ I should think the man who imbibed that 
quantity was little better than a beer cask.” 

“Very little better, and yet there are plenty 
of such men to be found in some European coun- 
tries. There will be many too in our own country 
within a few years, if things go on as they prom- 
ise to. The brewers are doing even worse for us 
than the distillers; and of the two they are the 
more insolent.” 

“ Then why not stop their business at once \ ” 


i88 


The Winning Side. 

“ There is no good reason why it should not 
be done, but if you should attempt to lead a for- 
lorn hope against this enemy, you would soon 
find that it is strongly intrenched behind bul- 
warks, of whose existence you had never before 
dreamed.” 

“ There is money for one thing.” 

“ Yes, and it is freely spent.” 

“ Because it is freely made. Whenever the 
brewers make a large appropriation for bribes 
or campaign purposes, be sure a host of poor fel- 
lows will have it to pay in the end. There are 
ways of cheapening the process of brewing, as 
well as of diluting the beer after it is made, so 
that the profits on its sale can be increased at 
pleasure.” 

“ That may be ; but Hindman professes to fur- 
nish his customers with a pure, healthy drink, 
and Dr. Mensel endorses it as being all that is 
claimed for it.” 

“I know the Doctor praises it, but that does 
not change my opinion of it. It is claimed that 
beer contains only a small per cent of alcohol, 
and it is comparatively small ; but when a man 
drinks from ten to twenty glasses a day, he is 
pretty sure to feel the effects of it. A student’s 
brain cannot be quite as clear, or a workman’s 
hand quite as steady, as if he had drank only a 
moderate amount of cold water. Then the best 


Helping all Around. 189 

of us are none too good when we keep our appe- 
tites well under control ; to say nothing of cre- 
ating others to make demands upon us.” 

“That is true ; and besides, there is the waste 
of money.” 

“And of time also ; for beer drinkers usually 
congregate in saloons, instead of going home to 
their families. Often, too, they lose an hour or 
more from their day’s work, and it is said by 
those who know best about it, that one glass of 
beer only whets the appetite for another. Worse 
than this, the use of beer as a beverage brings on 
some of the diseases most to be dreaded, besides 
poisoning the blood ; so that any accident or 
disease is likely to prove fatal.” 

“ And knowing all this, men will continue to 
drink it. Physicians ought to warn everybody 
against it.” 

“A few do so, while many prescribe it as a* 
tonic ; and like Dr. Mensel, some clergymen 
praise it as a health-giving beverage. Hind- 
man’s family attend Dr. Mensel’ s church, and 
he gives liberally whenever called upon. He can 
afford to do it, too. It invests him wdth an air 
of respectability, and brings him into favorable 
notice. He needs something to offset against 
his twenty saloons, more or less. They are in 
every part of the city, and no pains are spared 
to make them profitable to their owner.” 


1 90 The Winning Side. 

“Every one of them ought to be closed.” 

“ Then vote to have them closed, and when the 
time comes for voting, don't talk about moral 
suasion, as so many do. The community does 
not trust to moral suasion to prevent theft, or 
murder, or any other great evil ; and it ought 
not to trust it against dram-selling of either beer 
or whiskey. There is no ^ doubt that it was 
through Hindman’s efforts that Chappelle was 
defeated. It cost him a round sum to do it, but 
it is no less a shame to all good citizens, that it 
could be done in any way.” 

“ It is a shame. Chappelle is a grand man ; a 
strong man, too, who will by-and-by count for 
all he is worth.” 

“He seems to have plenty of business.” 

“He will have when he has been admitted to 
the bar. The care of Miss Wareham’s estate 
gives him quite a little income ; and last week, I 
heard that the management of another large es- 
tate had been placed in his hands. The Ware- 
ham block is a credit to him.” 

“ And to young Tolland as well.” 

The gentleman might have added : 

“And to every one employed on the premises, 
from the highest to the lowest ; ” for every part 
of the work had been most thoroughly done. 

It was while employed there, doing the hard- 
est, roughest work, that Prentiss Wetherbee bat- 


Helping all Around. 191 

tied with his unfortunate appetite, and came off 
conqueror ; never dreaming that while doing 
this, he had the sympathy and prayers of one 
who knew much of his past life, and watched for 
an opportunity to give him assistance. 

Every day he had worked, unheeding cold or 
storui ; every night he had returned to his room, 
thankful that he was so much nearer the accom- 
plishment of his purpose. Taking his meals at 
the little cellar restaurant, he never lacked for 
nourishing food. He was comfortably clothed, 
and his home was made comfortable by a suffi- 
ciency of plain furniture. 

He had a bank-book, in which, each week, 
there was set to his credit a sum answering to 
one-half his wages ; and he was looking forward 
somewhat impatiently to the time when he could 
make his first payment to Arnot Slocum. 

The only social pleasure he allowed himself 
was his visit to the old red house, when he re- 
ported to Wirt Halland the fact that he had 
kept his pledge. 

“ You are getting to be such a good man, it 
makes me happy just to think of it,” said Wirt 
one Sunday evening, when Mrs. Halland had 
gone with Hretchen to the chapel, leaving the 
boy quite alone, but for the coming of his friend. 

“ I am trying to be good, but I never do so 
well that I am satisfied with myself,” was re- 


192 


The Winning Side. 

plied. “ Sometimes it is so hard, I almost think, 
for a minute, it would be easier to give up, and 
drift back into the old way.” 

“ That is when you are discouraged, Mr. 
Wetherbee. Gretchen says sometimes it seems 
for a little while as though it would be easier to 
give up trying, than to keep on ; and what do 
you think she does then ? ” 

“ I don’t know. What does she do ? ” 

“ She goes to work and helps somebody poor- 
er than she is, and that makes her so happy, she 
forgets all about being discouraged.” 

“But I can’t help anybody. I am of no use 
in the world, except to work, and earn money to 
pay a debt I have owed a long time.” 

“ Why, Mr. Wetherbee, you are helping 
somebody all the time. You help me, and I 
don’t doubt but you help a good many others. 
Your visits are something for me to think of all 
the week.” 

“ But you have so many friends. I can’t 
count for much with you.” 

Here Wirt Halland laughed softly at the idea 
of a poor crippled boy like himself having many 
friends, when only a few months before he had 
been so desolate. Yet as he thought of it, he 
remembered the kindness shown him by differ- 
ent people, and wondered if after all Mr. Weth- 


Helping all Around. 193 » 

erbee was not right in regard to the number of 
his friends. Presently he said : 

“ I have not so many friends, that I can afford 
to lose one of them. 1 should miss you more 
than you think. So I am one to be helped, and 
you are growing better so fast, you will have 
more influence. Grandmother says you are 
growing good-looking, too, and she wonders if 
there isn’t somebody belonging to you who 
ought to be made real glad about you. I don’t 
know as I have anybody except grandmother, 
but I always wished I had a sister. Did you 
ever have one 1 ” 

Yes, and a good sister she was ; too good 
for such a wretch as I have been.” 

“ And is she alive 
I don’t know.” 

“ Don't know ! Why, Mr. Wetherbee, I should 
think you would find out just as quick as you 
can.” 

“ I must wait for that. Now tell me about 
yourself, Wirt. Are you going to the hospi- 
tal «” 

I expect to. I was thinking about it when 
you came in ; praying for strength and courage 
to carry me through. I have all the money ex- 
cept five dollars, and that is sure to come. 
Gretchen will take care of grandmother, and she 
will come to see me too, on all visiting days. 


194 The Winning Side. 

Grandmother has enough to live on, so I shan’t 
worry about her, but it is going to be very hard. 
Won’t you pray for me, Mr. Wetherbee ? ” 

“ I would, if my prayers would do you any 
good.” 

“ Don’t you pray for yourself ? ” 

“I try to, but I tell Mr. Darcy I don’t know 
as it is really praying.” 

“ Don’t you really mean what you ask for ? ” 

“ Of course I do.” 

“ Then of course it is praying, and I want you 
to pray for me. I asked Mr. Yolsen, but he 
said he never prayed in all his life. He don’t 
believe in it, but I guess he will, because he has 
signed Gretohen’s pledge. She has got such a 
long string of names, she keeps piecing out her 
paper ; though she didn’t get so many in the 
winter, because she only went out afternoons. 
She made buns and cookies in the morning, and 
sold them in the afternoon. 

“She has started another peddler, too; Dice 
Sangal, a little darkey, who is full of fun as a nut 
is of meat. Gretchen found him and his mother 
living in a shed, poor as they could be. They 
live in the shed now, but they have papered 
over the cracks, and laid a better floor, so they 
can keep warm.” 

“How can Gretchen afford to spend so much 
money on other people ? ” 


Helping all Around. 


^95 


“ Slie don’t spend much. She just tells them 
how to do for themselves and helps them do 
it. That is the way she does in Water street, 
and the people are ever so much better than they 
used to be.” 

“ Does the old saloon run yet ? ” 

“Yes, sir ; and perhaps it always will, because 
the man who owns the house owns the saloon, 
so he can’t be turned out. It is Mr. Hindman, 
and he is ever so rich ; but I can’t think he is a 
good man.” 

“ He is a bad man. I know he is a bad man ; ” 
and having said this, Mr. Wetherbee changed 
the subject of conversation. 

He did not wish to talk of Charles Hindman. 
They sometimes met on the street ; yet neither 
gave any token of recognition, although the 
brewer knew perfectly well that this man, whom 
he both feared and hated, was steadily improv- 
ing ; winning the confidence of his employer, and 
the good-will of his companions. 

Early in the spring, Mr. Slocum was in the 
city for a short time, when Mr. Chappelle met 
him, and after a cordial exchange of greetings, 
said to him : 

“I can give you good news of an old friend. 
Once you counted Prentiss Wetherbee your 
friend.” 

“ I did. Do you know anything of him ? ” 


196 The Winning Side. 

“ I know that lie has been hard at work for 
several months, and that he is living soberly.” 

“Do you mean to say that Prentiss Wetherbee 
has reformed ?” 

“He is certainly a very different man from 
what he has been, and he has improved wonder- 
fully since 1 first saw him.” 

After some further conversation, Mr. Chap- 
pelle referred Arnot Slocum to the little cellar 
restaurant, as the place where he could obtain 
all desired information in regard to his old-time 
friend. 

Mr. Darcy was glad to give a good report of 
the man in whom he had become so deeply inter- 
ested ; cheerfully answering all questions, and 
volunteering a graphic description of their first 
meeting ; saying, at last : 

“Mr. Wetherbee has not spent a cent unneces- 
sarily. I have thought, sometimes, he did not 
allow himself enough ; but he says he has a debt 
which must be paid, and it is for that debt he is 
working.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


BAFFLED. 

Prentiss Wetherbee came in from Ms work, 
ate his frugal supper, and then went to his 
room ; where he threw himself into a chair, and 
covering his face with his hands, murmured : 

“ I cannot go on in this way much longer. I 
cannot, I cannot! O, God, help me !” 

A rap on the door startled him, and springing 
up, he lighted a lamp. The rap was repeated, 
and the next minute two men clasped hands, 
each looking steadily into the face of the other. 

‘ ‘ Prentiss, ’ ’ at length said the visitor. ‘ ‘ Pren- 
tiss, I am glad to see you.” 

“I am glad to see you,” was responded. 
“ Take a chair. This is not a nice place, but it 
is my home.” 

“Thank God you have a home. Mr. Chap- 
pelle told me about you, and Mr. Darcy told me 
where to find you, this evening. You have 
changed since I saw you last.” 

“ There was need of change. You, too, have 
changed. You must be prospering.” 

( 197 ) 


The Winning Side. 


198 

“I am.” 

After this laconic reply, there was silence, 
broken, at length, by the host, who said : 

“Hindman told me that you stole the money 
you loaned me six years ago.” 

“It amounted to the same thing as stealing, 
although when I took it, I expected to repay it 
before it could be missed.” 

‘ ‘ And you never did ? ” 

“Yes; every cent of it has been paid, with 
interest in full ; and the man from whom I took 
the money trusts me.” 

“Does he know?” 

“He knows all about it.” 

“ I am glad he trusts you. You deserve to be 
trusted. I am going to pay you my debt, but I 
don’ t expect you will ever trust me. That would 
be too much. I don’ t expect you to forgive me, 
either ; but if you knew what I have suffered, 
you would pity me.” 

“ I freely forgive you, Prentiss.” 

“ How can yoii ? You would never have taken 
money for yourself.” 

“ No ; I never would. I would have died first, 
but I loved you, and — ” 

Here the speaker found it impossible to say 
more. Memories of the old days, with all their 
hopes and expectations, came thronging back. 


Baffled. 1 99 

and for the time quite overcame him, while his 
companion wept audibly. 

“What caused you to change?” he at length 
found voice to ask. 

“ I was forced to change,” was replied. “I 
went down so low, that I begged from Charles 
Hindman, and it was then that he told me you 
were a thief. He taunted me with my degrada- 
tion, and so aroused my pride. I swore I would 
reform, if only to pay my debt to you, and help 
bring him to justice. I have not tasted liquor 
since then. I have saved one-half of my wages 
for you ; and as for Hindman, I bide my time. 
He is a rich man, and he is counted prosperous, 
but there is a sword hanging over his head. He 
may not see it, but I know it is there.” 

After this there followed a long conversation, 
in which revelations were made which astonish- 
ed Arnot Slocum, who thought he had known 
the full extent of Charles Hindman’s perfidy. 

“ He would drag me down again if he could,” 
said the reformed man. “ I know that he fears 
me, poor as I am, and well he may ; yet I some- 
times pity him. His father was a bad man, and 
he was taught to take all he could get, either 
honestly or dishonestly. His business suits 
him.” 

“And he suits his business, although he pre- 
fers to act through agents, so that he may not 


200 


The Winning Side. 

be beld responsible. More than one man has 
been lured to drunkenness, that his testimony 
might not be considered reliable.” 

“ Yes, but if that man reforms, what then ? ” 

“Then he can face the world, and demand to 
be heard and believed.” 

“Thank you for saying that, Arnot. I am 
willing to work hard and fare hard, if that time 
can ever come to me.” 

“ It can come. It will come. I believe in you, 
my friend.” 

“ Friend ! I have been your enemy. I have es- 
tranged my friends. I tore myself from them ; 
glad to forget and be forgotten.” 

“ Your sister % ” 

“ I know nothing of her. I have not dared to 
think of her. She gave me her last dollar when 
I asked her for it, and afterwards she earned 
enough to take her West. Will you answer me 
one question, which perhaps I ought not to ask ? 
Was there ever an engagement of marriage be- 
tween you two % ” 

“ There was, and I broke the engagement be- 
cause, as I told her, I was not worthy of her.” 

“ Was that after you had loaned me four hun- 
dred dollars ? ” 

“ It was.” 

“ I see it all now. My sister loved you.” 

“I loved her as I loved my life. Better than 


Baffled. 


201 


that ; for I loved her too well to make her my 
wife, after I had disgraced myself.” 

“ And you did it all for me, when I was not 
worth a tithe of it.” 

“You were worth saving, but I had no right 
to do as I did.” 

Unwilling to separate, these men spent the 
night together ; sleeping little, yet strangely 
rested. Everything was forgiven, and once more 
they were pledged to mutual friendship and 
honorable living. The “ Willet affair ” was dis- 
cussed, and the conclusion reached, as so often 
before, that justice would sometime be done. 

The next morning Prentiss Wetherbee went to 
the bank in which his savings were deposited 
and drew every dollar of them, paying the mon- 
ey to his old friend, who prized it more as a 
token of his sincerity than as the first payment 
on a debt. 

He was walking with this debtor when Mr. 
Hindman passed them ; recognizing them too, 
as he could not fail of doing, since Mr. Chap- 
pelle in meeting them addressed them by 
name. 

“That man has been my best friend,” said Mr. 
Slocum of Mr. Chappelle. “He was the only 
man I dared to trust. I told him my story and 
he believed me.” 

“I have not told him my story, but be gave 


202 The Winning Side. 

me a cliance to work, and I asked nothing more 
of him.” 

It was not until he visited Mrs. Halland that 
Mr. Slocum knew of her acquaintance with his 
old friend. In telling him what Gretchen was 
doing for others, she spoke of the pledge which 
had received so many names, and mentioned the 
name of Prentiss Wetherbee. 

“ He is a lonely man,” she said, and then pro- 
ceeded to describe him as he appeared when ask- 
ing for work, to earn a breakfast. 

“That was the beginning of his new life. 
Wirt thinks he is sure to keep on in the right 
way, and I believe Wirt helps him. You see he 
comes every Sunday evening to say he has kept 
his pledge another week, and every time he 
comes, he looks better than he did the week 
before. It has been hard for him, but I think 
the worst is over.” 

Prentiss Wetherbee was of the same opinion, 
and congratulated himself that every day’s absti- 
nence made easier the day following it. He had 
carefully avoided his old associates, who indeed 
were now so far below him that he was in little 
danger of meeting them. 

He often walked from his work to his home 
without so much as a bow of recognition from 
any one ; but one evening he met a well-dressed 
man who claimed acquaintance with him ; pro- 


203 


Baffled. 

fessing great pleasure at the unexpected meet- 
ing, and so far winning his confidence, that he 
was induced to prolong his walk far beyond the 
usual limits. They talked upon various subjects, 
going farther and farther from his home, until 
they came near a saloon, at the door of which 
several men were lounging. 

“ Come in and take a glass of beer with me,” 
now said the stranger. 

“Thank you, but I do not drink beer,” re- 
plied Mr. Wetherbee with a start, as there flash- 
ed upon him a terrible suspicion. 

“Not drink beer!” was responded with a 
mocking laugh. “ Why, it is harmless as water 
and more healthy than medicine. Come in and 
have a glass.’ ’ 

“No, I tell you no,” answered the now thor- 
oughly aroused man. “I would not drink a 
glass of beer to save my life.” 

“We shall see about that. You can have your 
choice ;” and as this was said in a loud voice, 
two men came swiftly from the saloon door, ask- 
ing what was the trouble. 

“The trouble is that my friend here is deter- 
mined not to drink a glass of beer vath me, and 
I am determined that he shall. 

“You remember the old saying : ‘A bird who 
can sing and won’t sing must be made to sing.’ 


204 Winning Side. 

If you say so, h.e shall drink a glass of beer with 
you, whether he will or no.” 

“I do say so.” 

“ Then here goes ! Come on, my man ! ” and 
at the same moment this was said, Prentiss 
Wetherbee felt himself lifted from the pave- 
ment, while a hand was placed tightly over his 
mouth, to prevent any outcry. 

Even then, in the rush of emotions incident to 
this outrage, he knew to whom he was indebted 
for the assault. It was another of Charles Hind- 
man’s plans for silencing an accusing voice. He 
would be forced to drink ; drugged perhaps into 
insensibility, and when again conscious, the old 
appetite would clamor for the mastery. 

One wild, despairing prayer went up, and then 
all was confusion. He was sent reeling into the 
street, where he fell heavOy. As in a dream he 
heard the sound of voices ; some threatening, 
and some compassionate. At length he was 
helped to his feet, a strong arm was thrown 
around him, and he was encouraged to try his 
strength. 

“ Gretchen and I will see you safely home,” 
said the man who supported him. “ The rascals 
won’t trouble you again to-night. They may be 
thankful if they get off with nothing worse than 
I have given them.” 


Baffled. 205 

“Gretcheni Is Gretclien Stagel here ? ” was 
asked huskily. 

“Yes; right here,” answered the brave girl. 
“You can trust Mr. Lollard. He is one of my 
friends, and he will be your friend, too.” 

Upon attempting to walk, Prentiss Wetherbee 
found that he was not seriously injured, and re- 
covering gradually from his excitement, he asked 
how it happened that help had been at hand. 

“ It would be hard telling that,” answered 
Tom Lollard. “I don’t often come this way, 
but I did to-night, and I overtook Gretclien with 
her basket. She was late, and wanted to take 
the shortest cut home ; so I came through this 
street with her. We saw you at the saloon 
door, and she knew you. Then it didn’t take 
me long to make out what was going on. The 
men were so busy with you, they didn’t mind 
me till I was fairly up with them. 

“I sent three of them about their business in 
pretty quick time, and you got your share with 
the others, but better that than worse. When 
you have time and strength, I should like to 
have you tell me all about it.” 

“ Does that saloon belong to Hindman \ ” was 
asked abruptly ; and an affirmative answer be- 
ing given, the response was made : “I thought 
so.” 

There was no further comment. Gretchen 


2o6 The Winning Side. 

was silent, until when their ways diverged, she 
said : 

“Mr. Wetherbee, Mrs. Halland will be glad 
to see you next Sunday evening. She will tell 
you then about Wirt.” 

“ Thank you ; I will see her, if — ” 

“ Never mind the ifs, man. I reckon you will 
be ready for work to-morrow. I am going to see 
you safely home to-night, and if yon ever need 
anybody to strike a hard blow for you, call on 
Tom Lollard.” 

The proprietor of the little cellar restaurant 
was troubled. He had taken unusual pains to 
provide a nice supper for his boarder, but his 
efforts were not appreciated. Mr. Wetherbee 
only wished for strong coffee, of which he drank 
two cups. 

“ If you can come to my room by-and-by, you 
will do me a great favor,” he said, as he pushed 
his chair back from the table, leaving the food 
untasted. 

“ I will come,” replied Mr. Darcy, and through- 
out the evening he could think of little but this 
request, and the strange look which had accom- 
panied it. 

He made haste to accept it, and having done 
so, listened almost breathlessly to a recital of 
facts which seemed too dreadful to be true. 


207 


Baffled. 

“ I advise you to tell Mr. Chappelle just what 
you have told me, and the sooner Mr. Slocum 
knows what has happened this evening, the bet- 
ter it will be for you. But Mr. Chappelle can 
help you, and you may need help that no one 
else in the city can give you.” 

“ But I have no claim upon him, neither can I 
prove that there was any plan back of what hap- 
pened this evening.” 

“True, but all the same it is your best way to 
talk with him. He is a Christian, and it is part 
of a Christian’s duty to help his neighbor.” 

“I will think of it,” answered Mr. Wetherbee ; 
and the next morning his thought had become a 
decision. 

He did not feel equal to making an exertion, 
but at the usual hour he was in his place at 
work. Before noon, Mr. Chappelle came near 
him, making some pleasant remark, when im- 
proving his opportunity, he said : 

“ I have no right to ask a favor of you, but I 
shall be very thankful if you will give me a few 
minutes’ time when convenient. I need counsel, 
and you have been so kind to me, I thought per- 
haps you might be willing to add another kind- 
ness.” 

“I shall be very glad to do you a kindness, 
and I can give you half an hour’s time now.” 


2o8 


The Winning Side. 

“But my work? ” 

“ Never mind tke work. You have often 
worked over kours without being paid for it. 
If you need counsel, and I can give it, the sooner 
it is given the better.” 


CHAPTER XIX. 


STRANGE REVELATIONS. 

A QUIET nook was found where the two men 
would be secure from in-terruption, and Prentiss 
Wetherbee began at once to tell his experience 
of the previous evening. While doing this his 
companion looked at him steadily, asking an 
occasional question, but making no comment 
until all had been told. 

“ And you believe it was the carrying out of 
a deliberate plan for effecting yonr ruin,” he 
then said. 

“ I do believe it,” was replied. 

“And you are reasonably certain of the per- 
son responsible for it.” 

“Yes, sir, I am. I know of but one person 
w'^ho would have any interest in seeing me back 
in my old degradation.” 

“ And that person has reason to fear you.” 

“He has; because he has reason to fear the 
truth. I have no wish to injure him personally, 

although he has been my worst enemy, but jus- 
14 ( 209 ) 


2 10 The Winning Side. 

tice to otliers demands that the truth should be 
known.” 

“ It is never right to shield the guilty at the 
expense of the innocent. It is not necessary 
now to call any names ; but when the proper 
time comes we must see that the train of evi- 
dence is complete.” 

“ It can be made complete, Mr. Chappelle, but 
I prefer not to accuse any one until I have proved 
myself worthy to be believed. It may take 
years for that, but there are others who know 
more of certain transactions than I do. Some of 
these persons have been kept out of sight until 
they are almost forgotten.” 

“ It may be possible to bring them into sight 
again. But now we must consider your safety, 
and make sure that you will not be again mo- 
lested. Of course you prefer to continue your 
present arrangements for boarding.” 

“ I do. I need the help Mr. Darcy gives me, 
and my room seems more like a home than any- 
thing I have known before for years. It would 
be hard for me to leave it.” 

“ It will not be necessary. I think I can ar- 
range so that you will have company when go- 
ing home at night, and you will not have much 
cause for fear at any other time. It will be well 
for you, however, to be on your guard against 
any surprise, and if worse comes to worst, it may 


Strange Revelations. 2 1 1 

be best to warn your enemy, if you have one, 
that regard for his own interests demands a 
cessation of hostilities. I am glad, Mr. Weth- 
erbee, that you have told me what you have. It 
confirms some suspicions of mine and explains 
some circumstances which have seemed to me 
mysterious. I shall act more intelligently now 
in regard to certain matters.” 

“I thank you, Mr. Chappelle, for having lis' 
tened to me. I had no right to expect it of you, 
but I counted on your being a Christian.” 

“You had a right to count on that, Mr. 
Wetherbee, and I trust you will count on it 
whenever I can be of assistance to you. My 
cousin Mr. Butler, had spoken of you in connec- 
tion with Mr. Slocum ; and when you applied to 
me for work, I remembered your name, so that 
I was interested in you from the first.” 

“Then you know how I wronged my best 
friend, and how he did wrong in order to save 
me ; but I assure you, Mr. Chappelle, that Arnot 
Slocum can be trusted.” 

“ He is trusted, and he will sometime be in a 
position to wield a strong influence for good.” 

“ I hope he will be in a position to expose the 
man who held him so long in bondage to work 
he despised.” 

“He can do what he will, so far as that de- 
pends upon the acceptance of his word as truth ; 


212 


The Winning Side. 

and, Mr. Wetherbee, it will make nothing better 
for him or yon to spend time in regretting the 
past.” 

“I know it, Mr. Chappelle, biit there are some 
things a man can never forget ; and to remember 
is to regret, unless a man’s conscience is com- 
pletely hardened.” 

No one realized the impossibility of forgetting 
the past more than did Charles Hindman, who 
that day saw Prentiss Wetherbee at work as 
usual, and knew therefore that another of his 
schemes had failed. 

Later, he was duly notified of this failure, and 
also told that a further attempt to compel a man 
to drink against his will, would be dangerous. 
Tom Lollard would be on the watch, and he was 
hard to manage. 

None knew the force of this last remark better 
than did the brewer ; as on more than one occa- 
sion he had urged his old employee to come back 
to him, with largely increased wages. The last 
time this request was made, an answer was given 
which would not need to be repeated. 

“ I would not work for you again if you would 
give me all you are worth. I am a poor man, 
and I expect to be a poor man all my life, but I 
shall try not to disgrace my children. If they 
go wrong, they shall not have it to say that I 
was bought with money to help carry on a busi- 


Strange Revelations. 213 

ness that is making trouble for so many. I did 
not always realize this, but now that I do, I can- 
not work for you. You have children, too, Mr. 
Hindman. Think of them, and think of the 
poor children, too, whose fathers spend for beer 
the money which should keep them in comfort.” 

To say that Mr. Hindman was angry would 
but feebly express his emotions as this appeal 
wms made to him. He could care for his owm 
children ; and as for others, it did not matter to 
him how they lived, or whether they lived at all. 
So that the good things of life came freely to 
him and his, he should count himself on the 
winning side. 

But to maintain his position, there must be 
further scheming. Distasteful as was the task, 
it became necessary that he should review his 
life, taking note of every transaction which 
might be turned to his disadvantage, and calcu- 
lating how this could be avoided. 

The debt incurred when first starting in busi- 
ness was outlawed, and therefore not to be con- 
sidered. The demand for a double portion of 
his grandfather’s property, was not a wrong of 
which the law would take cognizance, as there 
was no legal proof to be brought against him. 

As to the Willett affair, he had hoped that his 
responsibility in the settlement of Ben Willett’s 
estate W'ould be forgotten. For years he had 


214 The Winning Side. 

flattered Mmself that it was forgotten, or re- 
membered only as a questionable transaction. 

At the time, he had taken care to say that Ben 
had lost a large sum of money by being surety 
for another, and at the date of the latter’s death 
he was really a poor man. A deposit which his 
relatives claimed had been made for his chil- 
dren was withdrawn during his last sickness, 
upon presentation of an order properly signed. 
This order was presented by Charles Hindman, 
and an attempt was made to prove it a forgery ; 
but before it had been carried far enough to se- 
cure any positive result, the action was with- 
drawn. 

He felt himself secure on that point, but how 
a thorough investigation of the business might 
affect him otherwise, could not be so easily de- 
cided. 

Arthur and Anna Willett were now of an age 
to act for themselves. Arthur lacked stability 
of purpose, and could be easily influenced. He 
had already the reputation of drinking immod- 
erately, and therein lay his weakness. Under 
certain conditions, he might be managed through 
his appetite for alcoholic liquors. 

But his sister was entirely different. She had 
a strong will and positive convictions. Mr. 
Hindman could not hope to secure her favor, 
unless by playing the role of a generous friend, 


Strange Revelations. 215 

anxious to be of service to her brother and her- 
self. Fortunately, as he thought, he had learn- 
ed the name of the town in which they were liv- 
ing ; and since with him to decide was to act, 
the very next day Arthur Willett received a let- 
ter, written by one who claimed to have been his 
father’s friend, and who expressed the warmest 
regard for the children, of whom he had so long 
lost sight. 

The writer of this letter asked for an immedi- 
ate reply ; begging to know how he could be of 
service to his old-time wards, and offering the 
young man lucrative employment. 

“What do yon think of it?” asked Arthur 
Willett, after his sister had read the letter. 

“ I think he wishes us to believe him a friend,” 
was replied. 

“He certainly writes like one.” 

“ I know he does ; but I shall never trust 
him.” 

“He offers me work, and I can do nothing 
here to advantage.” 

“Nor anywhere else, unless you change your 
habits.” 

“ My habits are good enough for working in a 
brewery,” replied the young man, recklessly. 

“I think they are, and bad enough, too,” an- 
swered the sister sadly. “I keep hoping you 
will do better, but if you should come under 


2 i 6 The Winning Side, 

that bad man’s influence, I should be in de- 
spair.” 

“I don’t believe Hindman is half as bad as 
you think he is. I know we didn’t have the 
money we expected, but it cost a good deal to 
board us when we were children, and father may 
have lost money, as Hindman said he did.” 

“I know he might, but I don’t believe he did, 
although I never expect to have a cent of it. I 
hope you won’t answer this letter.” 

“ Of course I shall, and I think I’d better go on 
and see what the prospect is for work. I ought 
to earn enough to provide for us both. If you 
prefer to stay here, I could send you part of 
my wages every month.” 

“If you go I must go with you, but I would 
almost rather die. O Arthur, I am so tired with 
thinking and praying and working for you, it 
seems sometimes as though I must stop, even if 
you do go to the bad entirely. I beg of you 
not to answer that letter. Don’t you know that 
everybody says father drank a great deal worse 
after he was so intimate with Mr. Hindman ? If 
it hadn’t been for that, he might have lived 
longer. If it hadn’t been for that, too, he 
wouldn’t have quarrelled with Uncle Lansing.” 

“ Uncle Lansing did the quarrelling. He was 
so crazy, he didn’t know what he was about. 
You used to be afraid of him yourself.” 


Strange Revelations. 217 

“ That was when he had been drinking liqnor. 
I am afraid of any drunken person. Nobody 
knows what such a person will do. Why I come 
so near being afraid of you sometimes, that 
if I did not love you, I should lock myself away 
from you and let you die. I have done all I 
could for you, and I shall keep on, but I cannot 
earn enough for us both much longer. If you 
would only give up drinking liquor, I should 
be willing to live on bread and water the rest of 
my life.” 

“Poor girl, you don’t have much more than 
that now, and I am a brute to treat you so,” said 
Arthur Willett, all his better nature moved by 
his sister’s words. “I am sorry I have made 
you so much trouble.” 

“Then do better,” she answered, in a choked 
voice. “ If you only would, I should be the 
happiest of anybody in the world.” 

“ I wish I could, Anna. I think, almost every 
day, that I never will drink anything stronger 
than beer again. You know beer never hurts 
anybody.” 

“I know it does hurt anybody ; and besides, 
when you begin with beer, you end with some- 
thing stronger. I don’ t know what will become 
of either of us unless you stop drinking, and 1 
beg of you not to write to Mr. Hindman.” 

' Anna Willett had not the heart to continue 


2I8 


The Winning Side. 

her pleading, and for at least an hour, she and 
her brother sat in silence, with faces averted 
from each other. At length, he said huskily : 

“Anna, I will not write to Mr. Hindman. I 
don’t believe I want to have anything to do with 
him. He got Uncle Lansing shut up in the 
asylum, and he might shut me up if he thought 
he could gain anything by it.” 

“ That is just what he would do, and the worse 
you are, the better he will be pleased.” 

“I shouldn’t wonder if you are right about 
that. I don’t feel as sure about the money as 
you do, but the more I think about it, the more 
I don’t feel like trusting Mr. Hindman. And, 
Anna, I will try to do better. I don’t want to 
trouble you, but it always seems as though there 
was something pulling me the way I don’ t want 
to go. 

“ When I am where there is liquor, or where I 
can smell it, it makes me almost crazy for it ; 
and I should be bound to have it, if I knew it 
would kill me. Then the more I drink, the more 
I want.” 

“ I think you would get over the craving for 
it, if you should give up drinking it altogether.” 

“ Perhaps I should, after awhile. I know the 
longer I go without it, the less I want it. I wish 
I had never tasted the cursed stuff. The first 
glass of liquor I ever drank, Charles Hindman 


Strange Revelations. 219 

gave me. He said it. would do me good, but be 
made me promise never to tell anybody of it, and 
I never did until now.” 

This was a revelation to Anna Willett ; a 
proof, too, of what she had before suspected. 
Controlling herself with a strong effort, sho 
asked : 

“Did he ever give you any more liquor ? ” 

“0, yes, a good many times ; and when, ao 
he said, it was too strong for me, he got me off 
where there wouldn’t anybody see me, till I was 
well over it.” 

“He had an object in making you a drunkard, 
Arthur ! ” 

“ Do you call me a drunkard ? ’’ asked Arthur 
WiUett, as ablush of shame overspread his face. 

“ Other people call you a drunkard,” was re- 
plied. 

“ Then it is time for me to turn over a new 
leaf, and paste down the old ones so they will 
never open again.” 

“Oh, if you would! You don’t like to have 
me talk to you about praying, but mother was a 
praying woman, and she prayed for her chil- 
dren. I couldn’t live unless 1 could carry all my 
troubles to the Lord, and leave them there.” 

“ But you are worried all the same, as if you 
didn’t pray.” 

“Not all the same, Arthur ; but troubles come 


220 


The Winning Side. 

every day, so I am obliged to keep praying.” 

“I vrisb I dared promise that I will never 
make you any more trouble. I will promise 
never to drink any more liquor.” 

“O, Arthur, I cannot tell you how happy that 
will make me. My greatest trouble will be gone. 
Now promise that you will have nothing to do 
with Charles Hindman.” 

“ I promise that, too, my good sister ; and you 
will see that I shall not forfeit my word. I wish 
I could see Uncle Lansing. I don’t suppose I 
could depend upon anything he would say, but 
I might get some hints of the truth from him.” 

“You might get more than hints. I never be- 
lieved he was insane ; but it was better for him 
to be confined, than to be a drunkard at lib- 
erty.” 


CHAPTER XX. 


THE NEW BEEWEEY. 

The new brewery was completed, and dedi- 
cated with appropriate ceremonies ; consisting 
chiefly of unlimited beer drinking, by all who 
chose to avail themselves of the opportunity. 

“It suits me,” said the owner, in reply to 
some praise bestowed upon it. “ It has cost a 
round sum, but I intend to make it pay. It will 
stand my life time.” 

“And probably through the life time of your 
son,” was responded. “By the way, do you in- 
tend to bring him up to the business ? ” 

“I have not thought of it. He will be likely 
to choose something else, and he can take his 
choice. He will have a different chance in life 
from what I had. I was obliged to make money 
for myself, or go without.” 

“You did not go without it, Mr. Hindman.” 

“ I did not intend to. I am in a position to 
help my children, while I had no one to help 
me.” 

“They may need all the help you can give 

(22i; 


222 


The Winning Side. 

them,” thought the gentleman with whom Mr. 
Hindman was talking ; and who, although by no 
means a temperance man, had some scruples in 
regard to liquor making, and liquor selling. 

There were many to praise the enterprise of 
their “fellow citizen.” A glowing description 
of the new brewery appeared in a popular jour- 
nal; followed in a few weeks by an equally 
glowing description of a beer garden, opened 
under the most auspicious circumstances. 

It was fitted up handsomely, even luxuriously. 
The attendants were prompt and obliging ; the 
music, to be enjoyed every evening, was of a 
high order ; and the beer sold was of Hindman’s 
best ; than which, none could be better. It was 
intended to make this an attractive place of re- 
sort, where the most fastidious might spend an 
hour pleasantly. 

“And profitably to the proprietor,” added one, 
after reading this flattering notice. “That beer 
garden, which is no garden at all, will do more 
to corrupt the young men of the city than any 
dozen whiskey saloons. Boys will go there, and 
beer will be sold to them, despite the law pro- 
hibiting its sale to minors ; unless the Law and 
Order League interferes.” 

“Will it do so ?” 

“ I think it will. Its members are thoroughly 
in earnest, and the president is a host in himself. 


The New Brewery. 223 

Mr. Chappelle is not afraid to do Ms dxity. Any 
complaint made to him will receive prompt at- 
tention. He will not wait for a complaint, 
either, if satisfied that the law is being disre- 
garded. Hindman is carrying things with a 
high hand, but he looks worn and anxious.” 

“ He is amassing wealth.” 

“I suppose he is, but I believe he is paying 
for it. He makes too many assertions about 
the respectability of his business. If he really 
felt at ease about it, he would not say so 
much.” 

“ Perhaps not. I have no personal acquaint- 
ance with him, but he has considerable influence 
in certain quarters. I have heard it said that he 
had more to do with managing the last election, 
than any other man in the city. Money and 
liquor were his weapons, and he wielded them 
skilfully. He seems to be head and front of the 
local liquor league.” 

“I did not know there was such a league 
among us.” 

“ There is ; although, perhaps, not formally 
organized with a regular board of officers ; yet, 
none the less, is there a league here, and I have 
no doubt that every liquor dealer, wholesale or 
retail, contributed to the campaign fund. From 
Mr. Canning, with his stock of choice wines, 
brandies, and champagnes, to Pat Tally, with 


224 Winning Side. 

his vile whiskey ; all are interested in prevent- 
ing any prohibitory legislation.” 

“Mr. Canning needs the influence of prohibi- 
tion in his own family. Vinal Canning would be 
a miserable sot if he had not the prestige of his 
father’s wealth to keep him in society.” 

“ He is a sot for all that ; no better than 
others, and if he goes on as he has begun, he 
will come to the gutter, the same as the poorest 
man’s son. There is no chance for his reform, 
that I can see.” 

“ Hot so long as his father deals in wine, and 
has it on the table and sideboard. Mr. Canning, 
too, is a wine drinker himself, and when oppor- 
tunity offers, talks confidently of the benefits of 
its moderate use. He has strong backing in 
that, too, from men of whom we have a right to 
expect better things.” 

“That is one of the worst features of the case ; 
but I wonder if he is quite satisfied with Vinal’ s 
habits.” 

“I don’t know, but I have heard that his 
mother and sister are greatly troubled. His sis- 
ter is said to be an out-and-out teetotaller, able 
to give a reason for her faith and practice. She 
expresses her disapprobation of her father’ s bus- 
iness without hesitation ; and I have heard that 
she says she will not be supported much longer 


The New Brewery. 225 

by the profits of the liquor trade. She will earn 
her own support.” 

“ Her father will not be likely to allow her to 
do that.” 

“ I think not, but she is a young lady of strong 
will, as well as of strong principle.” 

“ She is a fine-looking girl.” 

“ She is what I call handsome, and too sensible 
to be vain of either wealth or beauty.” 

“ She may be able to infiuence her brother.” j 

“ Possibly ; but the chances are against it, as 
long as her father is in the wine trade. He sells 
at wholesale, but he knows very well that the 
retail dealers who buy of him are making wine 
drunkards every day. That is their business. 
They are ruining other men’s sons, and why 
should not his own son be ruined. He is of no 
more consequence in the world than thousands 
of others.” 

“ I understand Mr. Canning would be glad to 
have his son married.” 

“ Any young lady who would marry him 
would take a fearful risk ; yet, he is stylish, 
gentlemanly, and agreeable, when not under the 
influence of liquor ; and at other times, his 
friends keep him out of sight as much as possi- 
ble.” • 

“ They would hardly take the trouble to keep 
him out of sight of his wife, and he would not 
. IS 


226 


The Winning Side. 

care long to conceal Ms habits. The trouble is, 
that people, young and old, look upon wine 
drinking as entirely different from whiskey 
drinking, which nearly all are ready to condemn 
as coarse and vulgar. But to my mind, the only 
safety is in total abstinence from all distilled 
and fermented liquors. As for beer, it is thor- 
oughly bad in itself, besides creating an appe- 
tite for stronger alcoholic drinks. Selling wine 
may be considered a more aristocratic calling 
than selling beer, but I fail to see wherein it is 
more honorable.” 

Mr. Canning, who had held himself socially 
quite above Mr. Hindman, had recently met the 
latter gentleman with something like cordiality ; 
and Mrs. Canning had also called upon Mrs. 
Hindman for the first time. 

The family was coming up, as Agnes said to 
her mother, who was quite fiattered by atten- 
tions from some who had formerly treated her 
with great coolness. 

“ Only have money enough and you can com- 
mand any position you please. People don’t 
stop to ask how you got the money, either. 
Selling wine or beer, it makes no difference 
which. Father makes his money in beer, so of 
course I believe in beer.” 

“ Agnes and Claude will have a better chance 
than we had, but we will make up yet for some 


227 


The New Brewery. 

things we lacked,” remarked Mr. Hindman to 
his wife, after a day of unusually good sales. 
“Agnes can help you entertain company, and 
there is no need of stinting ourselves. We can 
afford to launch out more freely. Business 
never was better, and the look ahead is all right. 
1 think I will make Agnes a larger allowance, 
now she is through with study. 

“ She ought to dress more than when in 
school, and I like to see her looking well, though 
for that matter, I never saw her looking any 
other way. Let her invite company when she 
pleases, and if an extra supper is wanted, I will 
hire a professional to get it up.” 

Whatever might be true of him as a husband, 
Charles Hindman dearly loved his children, and 
was happy in providing whatever would give 
them pleasure. 

Claude was a smart, bright boy, with eyes and 
ears wide open to observe all which transpired 
around him. It was his father’s decision to send 
him to a public school, which threw him in con- 
tact with so many boys of his own age, each 
having different characteristics, and brought up 
under different circumstances. 

At first, at an age to understand the value of 
money as a passport to favor, he had thought 
himself quite superior to most of his school- 
mates ; hence his unkind remarks to Theron and 


2 28 The Winning Side. 

Victor Chappelle. After a time he became quite 
ashamed of his insolent manners, and made such 
amends as he could. 

Gretchen Stagel, also, was at one time the ob- 
ject of his ridicule, yet he had become her firm 
friend, patronizing her whenever she came in his 
way, and always interested in her quaint re- 
marks. He had not signed her pledge, although 
she had asked him to do so ; but he was think- 
ing of it, as he told her. 

He spoke of this at home, only to bring down 
upon himself the displeasure of his sister. She 
professed to feel disgraced by the very fact that 
he had thought of such a pledge, fit only for the 
low and vulgar. 

“ The Chappelle boys have signed it, and lots 
of other boys, too,” he said, by way of showing 
that he would not be without stanch supporters. 

“Con Chappelle signed such a pledge at the 
seminary, but that was no reason why I should,” 
replied his sister. “ I wish you to have nothing 
to do with the Chappelles.” 

“ Why not % Theron and Victor are first-rate 
fellows, and their sister is as nice as a girl can 
be.” 

“ How do you know anything about her ? ” 

“Why, I have been to Mr. Chappelle’ s house 
a good many times. I went first to see the gar- 
den and the hens, and I would rather go there 


229 


The New Brewery. 

than anywhere else. Mr. and Mrs. Chappelle 
are always nice to me, and I want to learn how 
to have a garden.” 

“Why, Claude Hindman, I am ashamed of 
you ! Do you want to work in the dirt like an 
Irish boy ?” 

“I want to do something ; and as for working 
in the dirt, I think it is a good deal nicer than 
some other kinds of work. Theron and Victor 
Chappelle come to school as clean as any of the 
boys ; but they earned lots of money with their 
garden last year.” 

“ They live in a mean little house, don’t 
they?” 

“No, they don’t. The house isu’t a bit mean, 
and sometime they will have a house as good as 
the one they lived in before Mr. Chappelle 
failed.” 

“For mercy sake, Claude, can’t you talk of 
anything but the Chappelles?” 

‘ ‘ Of course I can, but when you talk against 
them, I am just bound to stand up for them.” 

“I don’t wish to hear another word about 
them.” 

“ I have nothing more to say about them now. 
I don’t want to make myself disagreeable to 
you ; because, you see, you are all the sister I 
have, and you are so handsome when you look 
pleasant, I don’t want to make you look cross.” 


230 The Winning Side. 

This compliment so pleased Agnes Hindman, 
that she smiled upon her young brother, who 
had always been her most devoted admirer. If 
sometimes wilful and obstinate with others, he 
had yielded quickly to her influence ; ready to 
do whatever she desired. 

Now, he was beginning to judge for himself, 
where he had formerly accepted his father’s 
judgment as infallible. Quoting from home 
authority, he had stoutly maintained that beer 
was a proper drink for all, but he was fast 
learning that many condemned its use alto- 
gether. 

He seldom visited the brewery, had no inter- 
est in hearing of modern improvements, and 
once, when asked in his father’s presence if he 
intended to follow the business, he answered 
decidedly : 

“I shall not.” 

“That is the way with our boys,” remarked 
the questioner. “We make the money for them 
to spend. I earned what money I have, and I 
suppose it is the same with you ? ” 

“ My father had nothing to give me. I have 
been obliged to make money for myself,” was 
replied. 

He did not say how this money had been 
made, but recalling some things he had heard, 
Claude wondered if the business, so profltable to. 


231 


The New Brewery. 

Ms father, was honorable and right. He doubt- 
ed, and these doubts were increased, when a few 
days after, he heard Victor Chappelle tell 
Gretchen Stagel that he had a suit of clothes for 
one of her Water street boys. 

“What boys do you mean?” he asked, with 
pardonable curiosity. 

“ Some poor boys on Water street, who are in 
Gretchen’ s Sunday-school class,” answered Vic- 
tor. “They are so poor, they don’t have decent 
clothes to wear, and so when we can spare any 
at our house, we give them some. They can 
wear what we outgrow, though of course we 
have to wear ours pretty close.” 

“ Are there any girls there ? ” 

“Yes; and mother and Con help Gretchen 
about them.” 

“ What makes them so dreadfully poor ? ” 

“Won’t you be mad if I tell you?” asked 
Victor, with a queer expression on his good- 
natured face. 

“ What should I be mad about ? ” was asked 
in reply. “ I want to know what makes people 
so awfully poor ? ” 

“Well, it is mostly because they spend so 
much money for liquor and tobacco.” 

“Liquor? That means whiskey and — ” 

“Beer,” added Victor. “ Your father makes 
beer, and I don’t want to say anything against 


232 The Winning Side. 

him, but if a man don’t earn more than a dollar, 
or a dollar and a half a day, he can’t afford to 
spend ten or fifteen cents of that for beer. Now 
can he, Claude? ” 

“ I don’t know. Perhaps the beer makes him 
strong, so he can work better than he could 
without it. Father says it does, and keeps men, 
too, from drinking bad liquor.” 

“ Bread is better than beer, and ten cents 
worth of bread will go a good ways in a family. 
The man who drinks two glasses of beer, swal- 
lows the price of a good sized loaf of bread ; and 
then a good many times his family have to go 
without the bread.” 


CHAPTEE XXI. 


DEAF AND DUMB EANCY. 

Two years after Euth Bates had received 
from her nephew the letter which she returned 
unanswered, Zenas Jaquith drove up to her 
door, and leaving his horse secured to the post 
set for that purpose, walked into her pleasant 
sitting-room, where he received a cordial wel- 
come. 

“lam more tired than usual to-day,” she said, 
as an excuse for not rising at his entrance. “ A 
good many things have tired me. Some way, 
this forenoon, I had to just sit down and go back 
over pretty much all my life. I wished some- 
thing would happen to start me off on another 
track, but there wasnt a sound I could hear, ex- 
cept the hens cackling.” 

“ That must have been a pleasant sound, 
Euth. Every cackle meant so much gain to 
you.” 

“ I know it, but I couldn’t think of any gain. 
It seemed all loss. I believe I am growing old 
faster than I thought I was.” 


( 233 ) 


234 The Winning Side. 

“ Your neighbors would not say so. As I 
drove up, I was thinking how bravely you have 
gone on with your work ; and how well you 
have done it. You have enough and to spare.” 

“ Yes, I know I have ; if I don’t live too long. 
I don’t mean to worry about that, either. The 
Lord will provide. There will be the poor-house 
if there is no other place.” 

“ There will be some other place for you as 
long as we have a home ; so there is no reason 
why you should be anxious about that. That 
makes me think of the particular reason I had 
for calling this afternoon. You remember Raney 
Colby, who lived at Ben Willett’s, at the time 
he died.” 

“Yes, indeed ; deaf and dumb Raney, as we 
used to call her, when she lived at Mrs. Penni- 
man’s. She went from there to live with Mrs. 
wniett.” 

“Yes ; I have just heard from her.” 

“ Why, I supposed she was dead long ago. 
The poor girl had a hard time with Mrs. Penni- 
man ; and after Ben Willett died, I never knew 
what became of her. If alive, she must have 
been drudging for somebody.” 

“ She has, but she is past that now ; and there 
is a question which town must support her.” 

“She don’t belong to this town.” 

“ No ; but the question of providing for pan- 


235 


Deaf and Dumb Raney. 

pers is one of general interest ; and while talk- 
ing on the subject with some gentlemen, her 
name was mentioned. She disappeared about 
the same time that Mr. Lansing was missing 
from his old haunts ; and if anybody knows 
anything that can benefit the Willett heirs, 
they do.” 

“But where is Mr. Lansing? I hoped he 
would come this way.” 

“Possibly he may do so at sometime. He 
has been working on a farm for little more than 
his board. I heard from him yesterday. He 
has kept sober, and proved himself to be a sane 
man. They say, too, that he has managed to 
save a few dollars ; and now he is anxious to see 
Ben’s children. He declares that they have been 
cheated, and Raney knows about it. 

“Cliff Munson wrote to his aunt, Mrs. Mersy, 
that Charles Hindman turned as pale as death, 
when he told him that Tom Lansing was out of 
the asylum. Munson is doing well, and his 
aunt expects him with his wife this fall.” 

“I am glad to know that. Charles was the one 
most to blame for Cliff doing as he did. I can't 
realize that Charles is such a rich man as people 
say he is.” 

“ I hardly think his wealth is over estimated. 
He has made heavy investments West, from 


236 


The Winning Side. 


which, he derives a large income, and his busi- 
ness is wonderfully profitable.” 

“If it is ever proved that he was dishonest in 
settling Ben Willett’s estate, it will take some 
of his money to make that right.” 

“ If it was my business to look it up, I should 
calculate on a round sum.” 

“I wish it was your business, ’though as I grow 
older, I try to forgive Charles for the way he 
acted about father’s little property; and if he 
should get into trouble, I suppose I should be 
sorry for him. I would starve before I would 
be helped by him, but I don’ t mean to bear him 
any ill will. 

“I should like to see Raney Colby, fused 
to manage to make her understand what I want- 
ed to tell her, and I could generally make out 
what she wanted to tell me.” 

“I wish you could see her. I think Mr. Lan- 
sing will be coming this way before winter, and 
he will probably have something to say about 
her. She has worked hard enough, and earned 
enough, to have something laid by for her old 
age ; but not being able to speak for herself, she 
has been at the mercy of others.” 

“If Anna Willett knew about her, I think she 
would try to help her. She was devoted to 
those children, but Charles said they must be 


Deaf and Dumb Raney. 237 

separated, and I always thought he was care- 
ful not to let them know about each other.” 

“ Did you consider Raney ordinarily bright?” 

“ I did. She was quick to learn all kinds of 
work, and she would have learned to read, if 
anybody had known how to teach her.” 

“ Would you trust her word ? ” 

“I would, unless she has changed. She was 
very conscientious, and very careful to tell, in 
her way, the exact truth.” 

“ Then if she could make you understand that 
Charles Hindman managed to get such control 
of Ben Willett, that everything was left in his 
care because Ben had not strength to resist him, 
you would believe her.” 

“ I should, and that is what I always thought. 
Ben Willett was neither a drunkard nor a gam- 
bler, until he became so intimate with Charles, 
and Charles had a great deal more money when 
he went into business, than I could ever account 
for. I have been told he paid for everything, 
cash down, when he bought the brewery. I 
know he sold a large lot of liquor, he never paid 
a cent for, but that wouldn’t cover it all. In 
my opinion he is a black-hearted man.” 

“I believe he is ; and I am afraid he is even 
worse than we have suspected. I have heard, 
lately, that Arthur Willett is doing better, but 


238 


The Winning Side. 

Anna has broken down her health by working to 
provide for them both.” 

“This would be a good place for her to recruit. 
They haven’t any relatives in town, but they 
would find plenty of friends.” 

It was a strange coincidence, that the next 
day after this conversation, two young people 
were left by the stage at the village hotel, two 
miles from the house of Euth Bates ; and when 
they asked where they could probably obtain 
board at a farm-house, they were referred to 
her. 

“Miss Bates has sometimes taken boarders, 
and you couldn’t find a better place,” said the 
landlady, in answer to their inquiries. “ She is 
a good cook, and sets a good table ; and she is as 
nice, pleasant a woman, as there is in town. It 
is two miles over there, by the road, but if you 
knew the way cross lots, you could save three 
quarters of a mile.” 

“ Couldn’t you tell us, so we could find the 
way?” now asked the young lady. “I should 
like to walk, and we could have it all settled be- 
fore night.” 

“ That would be well for you, as our house is 
so full, we could hardly make you comfortable 
for the night,” was replied. 

Minute directions were given the strangers, 
and they started for the walk, enjoying every 


239 


Deaf and Dumb Raney. 

bit of landscape, and every song of bird. Tbey 
followed tbe river, until they came to a foot- 
bridge they had been told to cross ; and then 
took a narrow foot-path leading through the 
woods, to the brow of a hill, from which they 
could see Miss Bates’ cottage. 

They could not mistake this, for there was the 
gigantic elm, with its long, swaying branches ; 
the old well sweep, with the iron-bound bucket ; 
the flower garden, with its long rows of stately 
hollyhocks, growing and blossoming in the very 
place where hollyhocks had grown and blossom- 
ed for as many years as Kuth Bates could re- 
member. 

Just outside the door, also, stood the woman 
recognized at once as the owner of the house ; 
and her presence made the picture complete. 
An attractive picture, too, it was, for eyes tired 
of city sights. 

“You will grow strong and well there,” said 
the young man to his companion. 

“But perhaps Miss Bates will not let me stay 
with her,” was replied. 

“ She will not send you away to-day. I shall 
tell her you are not able to go any further. I 
wonder if she knew mother, and 1 wonder where 
mother used to live.” 

“We will find the place before we go away,” 
was said a little wearily, as the speaker began 


240 The Winning Side. 

to realize that she had overtaxed her strength. 

Miss Bates had seen them, and watched them 
coming towards the house ; meeting them at the 
gate, and giving them a cordial greeting, as was 
her wont. The young lady was first to ask if 
she and her brother could obtain board for a few 
weeks, adding : 

“We are strangers, but this is our mother’s 
native town, and we thought we should enjoy 
the summer here among the hills.” 

“What was your mother’s name?” asked 
Ruth Bates, looking sharply at the strangers, as 
if seeking to recognize some familiar lineaments. 

“Malvina West,” was replied. 

“Malvina West! And you are her children. 
Ben Willett’s children 1 Come right in and rest. 
You look tired, and you need to rest. Your 
mother and I were acquainted when she was a 
young girl, and we were good friends, too, if I 
was the oldest. I am glad to see her children. 
Come right in.” 

More than willing to accept this invitation, 
they entered the cottage, and Anna Willett was 
soon resting on a comfortable lounge. Prelimi- 
naries were quickly settled. Arthur Willett 
went to the hotel for their baggage ; and before 
night, they were quite at home in their new 
quarters. 

Arthur, who wished to find employment as 


241 


Deaf and Dumb Raney. 

well as board, was assured tbat lie could do this. 
Nothing was said that evening pertaining to the 
business in which they were so much interested ; 
but the next morning, Miss Bates asked Anna if 
she remembered Eancy Colby. 

“ Eernember Eancy Colby ! ” repeated the 
girl. “ I could as soon forget my mother. How 
hard I used to try to make her talk, and how I 
pitied her when I finally comprehend.ed that she 
was deaf and dumb 1 It was a terrible grief to 
me when Mr. Hindman took her away from us ; 
and I have wondered, many and many a time, 
where she was. Poor woman ; I hope some one 
has been kind to her.” 

“lam afraid she has had a hard life ; and now 
she is past work, she will be sent to the poor- 
house.” 

“O, Miss Bates, do you know where she is? 
She shall never go to the poor-house while I can 
work. I will find her and take care of her ! ” 

“Did you ever think, Anna, that you ought 
to have had more money than you got when 
your father died ? ” 

“Yes, Miss Bates, I always thought so. I 
know, young as I was, that father thought he 
left enough to take care of us till we were grown 
up ; but when Arthur was sixteen, and 1 was 
fourteen, Mr. Hindman said the money was all 
gone, and we must look out for ourselves. I 
16 


242 The Winning Side. 

never liked him, and I was glad when we were 
free from him ; but I don't like to think of some 
of the years since then.” 

“ Charles Hindman is my nephew.” 

“ Why, Miss Bates, I didn’t know that. 1 beg 
your pardon for speaking as I did.” 

“No need of that. He is the child of my sis- 
ter, but he is nothing to me. If he has not done 
right by you, I hope it will be found out and he 
be obliged to make full restitution. Your Un- 
cle Lansing is out of the asylum ; been out two 
years, and one of our neighbors thinks he may be 
coming this way before long. He is a sober man 
now, and old as he is, he has been working right 
along since he was at liberty. 

“ If he is sober I should be glad to see him. 
I don’t believe he was ever really insane, but 
perhaps it was best for him to be shut up.” 

“ May be, but that don’t make it any better for 
the one who shut him up,” said Miss Bates, and 
the conversation thus begun drifted on and on, 
until there had been a free interchange of opin- 
ions. 

Meanwhile Arthur Willett had gone to Mr. 
Jaquith’s, wliere he hoped his services would be 
desired. He was not used to farm work, but he 
could learn to do it, and he was anxious to earn 
money for his sister' s expenses. He spoke frank- 
ly of himself and his past inefficiency ; at the 


Deaf and Dumb Raney. 243 

same time expressing a determination to do his 
best in future. 

“I have a good deal to live down and live 
over, and there are some who I think would be 
glad to keep me where I have been, but I have 
no intention of pleasing them in that way,” he 
said, decidedly. 

“ I shall be glad to help you,” responded Mr. 
Jaquith ; these words but faintly expressing his 
interest in the young man. “You can begin 
work for me as soon as you please, and I will pay 
you every cent of wages I can afford.” 

“ I want no more than that, sir. Perhaps I 
cannot earn my board at first ; but after a while 
I think I can do a fair day’s work.” 

“ I have no doubt you will. I never saw a 
man yet, with a reasonable amount of health, 
who could not do a fair day’s work if he 
was disposed to ; and I think I am pretty sure 
of your disposition. You have come to the 
right place this summer. It will be pleasant for 
your sister to be with Miss Bates, and you can 
see her as often as you please.” 

The next day Arthur Willet commenced work 
for Zenas Jaquith. Anna Willett was happier 
than she had been before for years ; Ruth Bates 
was cheerful and busy ; old Buff purred content- 
edly, and the little brown cottage was flooded 
with light, not wholly dependent upon the sun. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


THE CHARM. 

“ O, Mrs. Jones, just put me to any other 
work, and I’ll do it as long as I can hippie, but 
don’t set me to wait on that deaf and dumb crit- 
ter,” said a lame woman, limping into the 
kitchen of a large poor-house, where the matron 
was superintending some cooking. “ She aint a 
critter any more than I am, neither, but she 
don’t seem like real human to me,” added the 
woman. “I can’t make her understand what I 
mean, and she wears a charm ’round her neck, 
same as a heathen ! ” “ 

“A charm, Molly ! What do you mean by 
that ? ” asked the matron. 

“ Why, Mrs. Jones, she has got a leather bag 
tied round her neck, and it’s so dirty, it might 
breed small-pox or cholera. She tried to keep 
it out of sight, but I saw it, and when I wanted 
to take it oflE while I was washing her, as you 
told me, she opened her mouth and made a noise 
like — like— like nothing I ever heard before in 

all the born days of my life. 

( 244 ) - 


The Charm. 


245 


“O Mrs. Jones, don’t send me to her again. 
It is worse than having the nightmare. I just 
can’t take care of her ! ” 

“Well, Molly, you need not go near her 
again. I will send some one else, but I am sure 
the poor woman would not hurt you. The 
charm, as you call it, must be something she 
prizes very highly.” 

“ It is my opinion she’d fight ’most like a tiger 
before she’d give it up, Mrs. Jones, and I’m 
ready to do anything else but wait on her.” 

The deaf and dumb woman had been in the 
house but a few days, when she was taken sick ; 
“homesick or heartsick,” as said the resident 
lady physician ; who, although finding it diffi- 
cult to communicate with her, was soon con- 
vinced that she was grieving, rather than suffer- 
ing from any bodily ailment. 

Evidently, there was something she wished to 
make known to those about her ; but, despite 
their best efforts, she failed to be understood. 
The bag worn about her neck had not been dis- 
covered until lame Molly saw the cord to which 
it was attached, and it was when she attempted 
to remove it, that the noise was made which had 
so frightened her. 

The physician was summoned by Mrs. Jones, 
and together they went to the room assigned the 
deaf mute, whom they found wringing her hands 


246 The Winning Side. 

and weeping bitterly. Under the circumstances, 
nothing could be done except to express their 
sympathy as well as they might ; soothing her 
as they would have soothed a child, and then 
leaving her to herself. 

“That woman has had a hard life,” said the 
physician. “ She has worked like a slave for 
her board and clothes, and then she is sent to die 
and be buried at the cost of the public.” 

“ She shall be kindly cared for so long as I 
have charge of her,” responded Mrs. Jones, 
whose heart had not been hardened, as have so 
many others, by familiarity with suffering. 

“ I know she will be, and in time she will be- 
come reconciled to her surroundings. She has a 
hunted look on her face, as though she was seek- 
ing a way of escape from some threatened dan- 
ger. Somewhere, there must be somebody who 
knows about her.” 

“Certainly there must be. There is a mystery 
about her, which I hope may be solved while she 
lives.” 

“ She certainly will not live long, Mrs. Jones, 
unless she can be made to eat and sleep. Some- 
times I have thought she would try to make her 
escape from here. In that event, she would be 
likely to die from exposure or starvation.” 

“We must guard against that, and yet not let 
her suspect that she is watched.” 


The ChaTyn. 


■47 


“That will be a diflScult thing to do, Mrs. 
Jones. She is naturally a bright woman, not 
easily deceived ; but she must have been cruelly 
abused. Used as I am to pathetic sights, it 
moves me almost to tears to look at her. If 
somebody would only claim her and care for her 
kindly, that person would make happy one poor 
benighted soul, for whom Christ died. 

“ Somewhere, somehow, there must be com- 
pensation for such darkened lives, as surely as 
some one is responsible for the darkness. If the 
truth could be told, I believe we should know 
that the mother of that woman was a drunkard’s 
wife, bearing a drunkard’s abuse in silence, and 
so sealing the lips and ears of her unborn 
child.” 

“That comes in your creed of heredity, doc- 
tor.” 

“It does ; and of all the sins for which men 
and women are to be held accountable in the day 
of judgment, I believe that of transmitting the 
consequences of their sins to future generations, 
will be the deepest and darkest.” 

“Possibly you are right. Since I came into 
this house, my ideas of responsibility and ac- 
countability have greatly changed, and I am now 
as ready as you to believe that the use of intox- 
icating drinks is the sin of sins.” 

“Because, Mrs. Jones, it leads to all other 


248 The Winning Side. 

sins, besides reaching on and on in its effects, 
till no man can number those who may suffer 
from it.” 

A week went by, while every day the silent 
woman grew more restless ; the hunted look on 
her face giving way to one of intense longing. 

“ She will die, and can give no sign,” said the 
physician, who had in some degree gained her 
confidence. 

At length a gentleman came to the house, in- 
quiring for Raney Colby, a deaf and dumb 
woman. 

“ She is here,” was the reply made to him. 

“ Can I see her ? ” he asked. 

“ Certainly,” answered the matron. “ She has 
been quite ill, and I believe she is really dying 
of homesickness, but if you are an acquaintance 
whom she will recognize, it will give her pleas- 
ure to see you.” 

“I don’t know that she will recognize me, but 
if she is tlie woman I am looking for, I have 
come to take her among friends who will care for 
her while she lives. I think I can make her un- 
derstand that.” 

Ushered into the room where Raney Colby 
rested in a large easy chair, Zenas Jaquith, for 
he it was, stood and looked at her until he caught 
her attention. Then he went up to her, clasped 
her hands, and smiled, as if glad to see her. 


The Charm. 


249 


After that he made many signs, Avhile she 
gazed at him wonderingly ; an occasional gleam 
of intelligence lighting np her face, only to leave 
it again dark as before. In every conceivable 
way he sought to inspire her with confidence, 
and at last seemed partially to have succeeded. 

“She is the v/oman you were looking for,” 
remarked Mrs. Jones, wljo had been present 
through the interview. 

“ She is,” was replied. “ I have not seen her 
for many years, but she has changed less than I 
should have supposed she would.” 

“Can you tell me if her father was a drunk- 
ard ? ” 

“lean. Her father was a brutal drunkard, 
althongh no one but his wife knew how bad he 
was until after Raney was born. He killed his 
wife by unkindness and neglect. She died when 
Raney was six years old, and he was killed by 
the falling of a tree when Raney was twelve.” 

“ She cannot read \ ” 

. “No ma’am, her father never cared to have 
her learn, and no one else would take the trou- 
ble. She could work without knowing how to 
read, and work was all that was required of 
her.” 

The woman evidently knew that she was the 
subject of conversation, as she looked from one 
to the other ; and when Mr. Jaquith turned to 


250 The Winning Side. 

lier again, she seemed to have a suspicion that 
he was in some way connected with people she 
had formerly known. 

A series of pantomimes, of questions on her 
part but half understood, and therefore imper- 
fectly answered, occupied more than an hour ; 
at the end of which time she expressed unmis- 
takably her willingness to go with the gentleman 
who had come for her. 

Mr. Jaquith having made all necessary arrange- 
ments for her removal, there was no reason for 
delay, and he started homeward at once ; not how- 
ever until he had seen the resident lady physician, 
whose theory in regard to the cause of Raney Col- 
by’s unfortunate condition he confirmed. 

It was not a long journey to his home, or 
rather to the home of Ruth Bates, who with 
Anna Willett was standing at the gate ready to 
welcome their expected guest. 

Since reaching the town, Raney Colby had 
been looking around in a strange, dazed way, but 
she now gave a nod of satisfaction, although she 
plainly was not sure of the identity of the two 
who came forward and expressed their pleasure 
at seeing her. 

“ Anna, can you remember any signs peculiar 
to yourself which you used when Raney lived 
with you?” asked Mr. Jaquith, who watched 
anxiously for the result of this meeting. 


The Charm, 


251 


After a moment’s tliought, tlie young lady be- 
gan to dance, with, her arms akimbo, at the same 
time swaying her head from side to side in 
measured cadence. Raney’s eyes were fixed up- 
on her with an eager questioning look, which 
sdddenly gave place to one of assurance, and 
with a cry which once heard could never be for- 
gotten, she clasped Anna Willett in her arms, and 
would have fallen to the ground had not support 
been given her. 

Later, after entering the house, she begged in 
her old way that she might be allowed to stay, 
and when made to understand that her home 
would in future be with the children she so 
ipuch loved, nothing could exceed her joy. She 
inquired for Arthur ; snapping her fingers in 
glee, when informed that he was not far away. 

The illness from which she had been suffering 
seemed to be entirely forgotten, while the marks 
of age in face and form were less discernible. 
No one who saw her could doubt her happiness. 

Arthur greeted her in his old impulsive way, 
and presently they were conversing so rapidly, 
that not even Anna could understand them. 

“Arthur could always make more of Raney 
than any one else,” she said, “He talks all over, 
and some way, she comprehends him. He was 
her favorite, although she was fond of us both. 
She hated Charley Hindman, They are talking 


252 The Wiiming Side. 

about him now,” added Anna, after a short si- 
lence. “ That is the way she always puffed her 
lips when she saw him coming.” 

“ What is it ? ” Anna asked her brother di- 
rectly after. “Does she know anything more 
about father’s money than we do ? ” 

“ She says she does,” replied Arthur, without 
stopping for a moment his gestures and contor- 
tions. 

“ Oh, if she could only speak and tell us what 
she knows ! ” 

“I will find it out, Anna, if I have to send her 
to a deaf and dumb school to learn to talk.” 

“At her age, Arthur, she could never learn.” 

“She could learn if she tried, and I could per- 
suade her to try ; but there will be an easier way 
than that. I have been thinking over a good 
many things since we came here, and I know 
that Hindman was a rascal, who set himself de- 
liberately to work to obtain what he could of 
father’s property.” 

“If he ever was a rascal, he is a rascal now,” 
said Miss Bates, who was so much excited that 
she found it difficult to maintain her usual calm 
demeanor. 

Another moment, and Raney Colby clutched 
at the cord about her neck. Breaking this, she 
drew from its place of concealment the greasy 
leather bag, which lame Molly had regarded as 


The Charm. 


253 


a diarm. Motioning for scissors, she carefully 
cut the stitches, and opening it, she displayed a 
paper, worn and discolored, yet with the writing 
upon it still legible. As she gave this to Ar- 
thur, Anna exclaimed : 

“What is it? Is it anything of interest to us ? 
Do tell me.” 

“ It is father’s handwriting,” replied Arthur. 
“It is a memorandum of his investment of eight 
thousand dollars in government bonds.” 

“ But where did Eancy get that paper ? ” 

Questions followed fast, but of necessity the 
answers came slowly. The memorandum con- 
tained a minute description of the bonds, their 
numbers, the date of their purchase, and the 
name of the gentleman through whom their 
purchase was made. 

“ That is something real, but it is necessary to 
know how, when, and where Raney found this 
paper. The man who took the bonds ought, for 
his own safety, to have taken the memorandum 
with them. I remember of hearing Uncle Lan- 
sing talk about some bonds, but I was too young 
and careless to give it much thought. 

“ Anna, take care of this paper, so that it can- 
not be lost. Raney must have kept it all these 
years, hoping some time to give it into our pos- 
session. Faithful soul, she shall never go to the 


254 


The Winning Side. 

poor-house again. If necessary, I will share my 
last crust with her.” 

She made Arthur understand that she had 
found the paper in a small black trunk of his 
father’s, after he with his sister had been taken 
away from their old home. She had no idea of 
the value of the paper, except as the smallest 
scrap of writing seemed to her valuable, and she 
knew that the characters so mysterious to her, 
were full of meaning to others. She had seen 
Charles Hindman take papers from the trunk 
before she examined it, and she thought he sus- 
pected her of having watched him. 


CHAPTEE XXIII. 


BEN Willett’s heies. 

Mr. Hindman read the letter twice ; then 
rubbed his eyes, as if he thought it possible they 
had deceived him. Again he read the lines be- 
fore him, and this time he knew there was no 
optical illusion. They could not be misunder- 
stood. 

Mr. Chappelle had been retained as counsel by 
the heirs of Benjamin Willett, who claimed that 
they had been defrauded by Charles Hindman 
of eight thousand dollars in government bonds, 
with interest upon the same for the years since 
Benjamin Willett’s death. If said Charles 
Hindman wished to avoid the publicity of a trial 
for the alleged fraud, it would be well for him 
to call upon Mr. Chappelle at his earliest con- 
venience. 

As the full import of this announcement burst 
upon him, his first feeling was one of utter con- 
sternation. Then he became angry, cursing his 
luck, as was his wont when some well-laid 

scheme failed of its expected result. 

(255) 


256 The Winning Side. 

At tlie time of the settlement of the estate, many 
questions had been asked which he found it dif- 
ficult to answer ; yet, so long a time had elapsed 
since then, that he felt himself quite secure, until 
Arnot Slocum and Prentiss Wetherbee had re- 
minded him that the affair was not forgotten. 

If he could know something definite of the 
heirs, and of those most intimately connected 
with them, it might help him to decide what 
was best to do. He had lost sight of Arthur and 
Anna Willett ; yet, in any event, he had little to 
fear from them, as it was impossible that they 
could have known the amount of their father’s 
property. 

As for Raney Colby, she must be dead, or at 
least, beyond the reach of those who could com- 
prehend any communication she might wish to 
make in regard to what had transpired so long 
ago. 

Tom Lansing might make trouble for him ; 
and humiliating as it might be to call upon Mr. 
Munson, he resolved to do so. Under the cir- 
cumstances, to resolve was to act, and the fol- 
lowing evening he presented himself at the cot- 
tage, which had been greatly improved since his 
previous visit. 

“Good evening, Mr. Hindman,” said the gen- 
tleman, without offering his hand or inviting his 
visitor to enter. 


Ben Willett's Heirs. 


257 


“ Good evening. I am glad to see you looking 
so well,” was replied, with some embarrassment. 
“ I was thinking of old friends, to-day, and won- 
dered if you knew anything of my Aunt Ruth, 
so I came around to inquire.” 

“I saw her a few weeks ago. My wife and I 
visited her when we were in town. She was well 
and busy, with quite a family to look after. Mr. 
Lansing was there, and deaf and dumb Raney, 
as folks used to call her.” 

“Not Raney Colby ! ” gasped Mr. Hindman. 

“Yes, Raney Colby. The Willett children 
heard she was in a poor-house, and they sent 
Zenas Jaquith to hunt her up. Now they are 
going to take care of her as long as she lives. 
Perhaps you know that Arthur Willett drank 
pretty hard for a while, but he is all right now. 
He is learning to farm with Zenas Jaquith, and 
Anna is boarding with Ruth Bates.” 

Charles Hindman stayed to hear no more. It 
was all plain to him now. He did not need to be 
told what Raney could witness against him. He 
more than suspected that she had seen him re- 
move some papers from the trunk in which Ben 
Willett kept all valuable documents. In his 
haste he had left other papers, but upon going 
again to the trunk, he found it empty. 

Eight thousand dollars ! He had disposed of 

the bonds and established himself in business, 
17 


258 The Winning Side. 

taking care, however, to make no display whicli 
might provoke unfriendly comment. He some- 
times half forgot that the money had come to 
him dishonestly ; yet, with a strange perversity 
for which he could not account, after an unusu- 
ally profitable transaction, he had invested in 
good paying securities the exact value of the 
bonds. 

He recalled this fact, at the same time calcu- 
lating rapidly the amount of interest he would 
be called upon to pay the Willett heirs, should 
they substantiate their claim. After much de- 
liberation, and a gradual recovery from the ex- 
citement caused by the reception of Mr. Chap- 
pelle’s letter, he decided to deny the charge 
made against him. But this resolve did not 
bring him rest. The night was one of anxiety, 
mortification, and unrest. 

In the morning he went to his counting-room 
as usual, where he gave some orders to his 
brother-in-law in regard to business. He then 
called upon Mr. Chappelle, to whom he profess- 
ed the greatest astonishment at the charge pre- 
ferred against him, when, as he claimed, he had 
done the best he could for the children of his old 
friend. 

“But what of the bonds, of which Mr. W^illett 
made so careful a memorandum ?” 

“I do not know,” replied Mr. Hindman, who 


Ben Willett's Heirs. 


259 


liad not before known of sncli a memorandum. 

“I think you do, and I think it can be proved 
that you disposed of bonds, numbered, marked, 
and of the same values as those so minutely de- 
scribed by Mr. Willett. You may as well be 
told now as at any future time, that the case has 
been carefully worked up, and my clients are 
ready to push their claim. In addition, Thomas 
Lansing prefers a charge against you for false 
imprisonment.” 

Having said this, Mr. Chappelle waited for a 
reply, but the man thus addressed was so over- 
whelmed with the threatened danger, that for 
the moment he was unable to speak. 

“ I could explain it all, but my enemies have 
conspired to ruin me,” he said, at length. “Mr. 
Willett transferred some bonds to me not long 
before his death. They were in payment of a 
debt he had owed me for some months.” 

“ Can you prove that, Mr. Hindman?” 

“ I am afraid not. No one witnessed the 
transfer, and as it was a matter entirely between 
ourselves, I did not suppose it could ever be call- 
ed in question.” 

“ Was this transfer made when Mr. Willett 
was capable of judging for himself, or was it 
after you had almost forced him to drink 
brandy until he had no power to resist your 
demands ? Kemember, Mr. Hindman, that a 


26 o 


The Winning Side. 

person deaf and dumb, is not necessarily blind.” 

There was a long silence, broken at length by 
the brewer, who asked for twenty-four hours to 
consider the matter ; adding : 

“ A man may be honest, and yet not be able 
to prove his honesty.” 

Mr. Hindman left Mr. Chappelle’s office, walk- 
ing slowly, as if uncertain of his steps. He look- 
ed straight before him, not wishing to recognize 
any one, or be recognized ; yet he had gone but 
two squares before he met Prentiss Wetherbee, 
with head erect, step firm, and no shrinking from 
scrutiny in the deeply lined face. 

This was too much to be borne with patience. 
Again Charles Hindman cursed his changed 
luck ; moving on as if in a dream, although he 
knew that he had need to be thoroughly awake 
and alert. 

In the afternoon he must preside at a meeting 
of “The State Protective Association,” which 
had for its object, the protection of the manu- 
facture of distilled and fermented liquors, 
against the aggressions of the prohibition party. 
It would be an important meeting for the consid- 
eration of important business, and the president 
would be expected to make an “ advisory 
speech.” No one could do this better than he, 
and as his associates said, he was always sure of 
his ground. True, he was sometimes so unscru- 


Ben Willett’s Heirs. 261 

pulous as to call forth criticism, but this he si- 
lenced in his characteristic way. 

“ If a man is bound to win, scruples must be 
thrown aside. Our business must be protected 
at all hazards.” 

This was an assertion which he claimed could 
not be too often repeated ; and on that day, of 
all others, when he was in most defiant mood, he 
gave to it a startling emphasis. 

Money was of small consideration compared 
with the inalienable right to liberty and free- 
dom. Too much was at stake to submit tamel5'^ 
to the enemy ; and he, for one, was determined 
to fight to the bitter end. He talked of the 
schools, which were becoming “the very nurse- 
ries of fanaticism.” He deprecated the use of the 
pledge, which in some instances he declared to 
have been placed before the Bible, the revelation 
of God’s will to man ; the grand old Book which 
teaches us that wine maketh the heart glad, and 
in which we have Christ’s example, as endorsing 
its manufacture. 

Before the close of the meeting, a vote was 
taken, pledging each member present to allow 
no other interest to come between him and the 
one great interest they were mutually bound to 
protect. Mr. Canning, who was there rather as 
a silent than an active member, voted with the 


262 


The Winning Side. 

others ; but as he did so, it was observed that 
his cheeks paled and his lips quivered. 

Thus far he had been devoted to his business, 
but he was learning that the business of wine 
selling was not all of life. Marvie was at home, 
the very darling of his heart ; gentle and tender, 
yet brave and firm in her battle for the right. 
She wished to provide for herself, rather than 
share in the profits of her father’s business ; 
and it was only after her mother had placed at 
her disposal a few thousand dollars, inherited 
from her great-aunt, that she was persuaded to 
abandon her plan for self-support. 

Vinal ridiculed her “notions,” as he called 
them, but she maintained her position ; and not 
only that, she sometimes compelled him to look 
the future fairly in the face. 

“ No use in borrowing trouble,” he said at 
last. “You would keep me looking on the dark 
side, when I am bound not to know that there is 
a dark side. You are always bringing a fellow 
to judgment when he is off for a good time. 

“But really, Marvie, you must let the wine 
question alone here at home. It is going to be 
on the sideboard, and it is of no use for you to 
make yourself miserable about it. Besides, it is 
not treating father with respect to condemn his 
business. It does not trouble my conscience to 
live on the profits of wine-selling. I am glad it 


Ben Willett’s Heirs. 


263 


pays as well as it does, for some way money 
slips tlirougli my fingers faster tlian I wish, it 
did.” 

Very much faster than Mr. Canning, senior, 
was pleased to have it ; and the day of the meet- 
ing of the association, there had been a some- 
what stormy interview between the father and 
son in regard to this. The father was then made 
aware of what he might have known long be- 
fore ; that he had little to hope from his son, 
unless there should be a radical change in his 
principles and habits. Yet, with all this fresh 
in his mind, he had pledged himself to make the 
protection of the liquor interest his first care. 

Upon leaving the room in which their meeting 
had been holden, Mr. Hindman accosted him 
with some remark, which elicited the reply : 

“ It seems to be a square fight between oppos- 
ing parties. The question is, which shall tri- 
umph 1 ” 

“Yes ; but in the long run there is no ques- 
tion. The right is sure to conquer.” 

“ True, Mr. Hindman. If we are right, it will 
be so proved. If we are wrong, then may God 
have mercy on us, for the wrong is a fearful 
one.” 

“ I am willing to take the risk, and I have 
always counted myself on the winning side.” 

“ The tide sometimes turns.” 


264 The Winning Side. 

Ominous words ; althougli within the next 
hour Charles Hindman assured a business friend 
that he was never in better health or spirits. 
His i^rofits were on the increase. His invest- 
ments were secure, and his highest ambitions 
tended to their fulfillment. He said nothing of 
loss or retribution. Of these he seemed to have 
no thought. 

Mr. Chaijpelle, however, was not surprised 
when the brewer jfiaced in his hands securities 
covering the entire demand made by the Willett 
heirs. This was done under protest, but that it 
was done at all, proved the justice of the de- 
mand. 

“ It is a clear case of blackmailing, but I pre- 
fer to settle rather than have the matter brought 
before the public. In such a case one is never 
sure of justice. There will always be two par- 
ties, and I am not anxious to make enemies. 
Besides, I know of no persons in the world upon 
whom I would sooner bestow a gift than upon 
Ben Willett’s children.” 

“They will not consider this money a gift, 
Mr. Hindman. They will regard it as the pay- 
ment of a dishonest debt. And now, what of 
Mr. Lansing % Unless you can compromise witli 
him in some way, he will bring suit against 
you.” 

“ What will be satisfactory ?” 


Ben Willett's Heirs. 265 

“That I cannot tell you, as he has not yet 
advised me.” 

“Then you are not authorized to act as his 
attorney ? ” 

“Not to the extent of settlement.” 

“Will you act for me, Mr. Chappelle % I 
don’t deny that it was through my influence Mr. 
Lansing was sent to the asylum ; but he cer- 
tainly appeared like an insane man. I cannot 
understand how any man, in the possession of 
his senses, would do and say the things he did.” 

“ He was probably insane with liq[uor, Mr. 
Hindman. There are hosts of such men in the 
country, but we aro hoping for the time when 
there will be no more making and selling of in- 
toxicating drinks. That time is surely coming. 
It may not be in your day, or mine, but we are 
nearing it every hour.” 

Mr. Chappelle had a purpose in saying this ; 
which purpose was effected, even if it was not ac- 
knowledged. There was another sleepless night 
for the man claiming to be on the winning side ; 
another day of anxiety, and still others, while 
he wondered what the final result would be. 

He would pay almost any amount of money 
rather than have old Tom Lansing appear in 
court against him. He could pay heavily with- 
out feeling the loss ; yet, for all that, somebody 
should make it up to him. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


SETTLING ACCOUNTS. 

Ruth Bates was sitting in the large square 
room which had for so many years been “moth- 
er’s room,” and later, “father’s room.” She 
had been unwilling to enter it, and kept it closed 
until Anna Willett came to her. Then she open- 
ed it, letting in the breath of song and of frag- 
rance through all the summer. Now in the 
chilly autumn days, a fire blazed on the hearth, 
while every ray of sunlight was welcomed as a 
harbinger of good. 

On this day the prospect without was cheer- 
less, the sky was dark with hurrying clouds, 
aud the wind swept mournfully through leafless 
trees. The summer was ended, and the harvest 
well-nigh garnered. The year drawing near its 
close had been an eventful one to the lone 
woman ; who, seated by the fire, v/atched its 
glowing pictures, as she had watched such pic- 
tures when she was a child. 

Her name was called, and bidding the speaker 
come in, Arthur Willett responded to the invita- 
tion. 


(266) 


Settling Accounts, 267 

“Miss Bates, I have come to tell you good 
news,” he said, joyously. “Your nephew has 
made full restitution for all wrong done to Anna 
and myself. We have no further complaint to 
make of him, and he has nothing to fear from 
us.” 

“I am glad,” answered Miss Bates, still gaz- 
ing into the fire. “I am glad for your sake, and 
for his sake. He deserves punishment, and I 
shouldn’t feel justified in lifting my hand to pre- 
vent it, but I believe I am growing soft-hearted 
towards him. It would hurt me to know that 
he had been publicly condemned as a criminal.” 

“ Dear Miss Bates, that shall never be if I can 
prevent it. For your sake he shall be forgiven. 
Uncle Lansing threatens to prosecute Mr. Hind- 
man, but I think we can persuade him not to do 
it. He knows it was best for him to be shut 
up.” 

“ Yes, but that is no excuse for Charles. Of 
course, your uncle can demand reparation.” 

“He can, and will ; and if I understand the 
matter rightly, Mr. Chappelle, who managed 
our case, has been employed by Mr. Hindman to 
make terms with Uncle Lansing. Mr. Jaquith 
will do all he can to prevent a law-suit, and as 
uncle feels that he ought to have some regard 
for your feelings, he will probably yield to ad- 
vice.” 


268 


The Winning Side. 

“It seems as thougli Charles must be sorry 
for some things he has done ; but I don’ t know, 
I don’t know. After all, Arthur, I think he is 
doing more hurt now, in his business that the 
law protects, than he could in any other way. I 
had a long talk with Clifl Munson, when he was 
here. I wanted to know all about it, and when 
he told me how Charles would plan to sell his 
beer, and take money from poor men who need 
it for their families, it almost took my breath 
away. Cliff Munson told me, too, of something 
worse than that, but I won’t talk about it. It 
has kept me awake nights, ever since I heard 
of it.” 

“Don’t allow that. Miss Bates. You are not 
responsible for Mr. Hindman’s conduct, and aU 
your worrying will not make him any better.” 

“ I know it ; but his mother was my sister, 
my only sister;” and as Euth Bates said this, 
tears filled her eyes. 

This manifestation made Arthur Willett more 
decided than before that Charles Hindman 
should be spared public disgrace ; and soon 
after, Mr. Chappelle received a letter from Mr. 
Lansing containing the message : 

“ Tell Charles Hindman that out of respect to 
his aunt. Miss Euth Bates, whom he robbed of 
half her patrimony, I will compromise with 
him.” 


Settling Accounts. 269 

Then followed a statement of the terms upon 
which he should insist, and which the brewer 
was only too glad to accept, although still curs- 
ing his changed luck. 

“Bound to win yet, in spite of them all,” he 
muttered between his teeth, as he threw aside 
his pen after calculating the amount by which 
his income had been diminished. “ I must 
have extra profits, and this shall be made up to 
me.” 

How it was to be done,- any one at all conver- 
sant with the ways of liquor makers, and liquor 
sellers, need not be told. A few months before 
he might have been more confident, but the diffi- 
culties in his way, and of which he was fully 
aware, 'only aroused him to greater activity. 

He had never been able to find a man who 
would fill Mr. Slocum’ s place ; and after repeat- 
ed changes, during which his brother-in-law had 
often disappointed him, he had at last made 
arrangements by which he hoped to rid himself 
of much responsibility, without materially re- 
ducing his profits. 

In some instances these profits had already 
been reduced on account of a decrease in sales. 
The old Water street saloon had lost many of 
its former patrons, while there had been an 
almost entire change in the tenants of the house. 
As was said by Wirt Halland, who now walked 


270 


The Winning Side. 

with only a slight limp, “ The poor people were 
called to come up higher, and most of them 
obeyed the call.” 

“ What is the matter there ?” asked Mr. Hind- 
man of his agent. 

“ The matter is that as fast as the tenants sign 
Gretchen Stagel’s pledge, they begin to clean 
up ; and the next thing they do is to move where 
they won’ t have the smell of beer all around 
them,” was replied. 

“Ignorant lot! I wish they couldn’t get 
away from the smell of beer anywhere within a 
hundred miles ; and another thing, I wish 
Gretchen Stagel would mind her own business.” 

“She says it is her business to help a§ many 
poor people as she can ; and she has been so 
poor herself, she knows the best way to do it.” 

“ Let her keep off from my premises, and I 
shall not interfere with her ; bnt the first time 
you see her, tell her from me, that she is not to 
go to the Water street house again.” 

“ If those who pay rent invite her to their 
rooms, I question if you have any antbority to 
keep her away. Even the old man in the attic 
is master of his room as long as he pays his 
rent ; and the tenants there have always paid in 
advance. That is what yon have always said of 
tenant’s rights.” 

“Really, man ! do you know whom you are 


Seining Accounts. 271 

talking to ? I want none of yonr preacking. 
You can go, but it will be well for you to re- 
member that. I expect you to keep the house 
full of paying tenants.” 

Charles Hindman would gladly have put the 
house back in its former condition, with all its 
squalid poverty, heathenish ignorance, and reek- 
ing filth. Some few repairs had been made, 
which he now wished unmade, and he instructed 
his agent to do no more. 

It was not long before Gretchen Stagel knew 
that he was displeased with what she had done 
for the improvement of his tenants ; and one 
day, when calling upon Mrs. Lollard, with whom 
she had established a warm friendship, she re- 
peated what had been told her. 

“That is like Mr. Hindman,” responded her 
hostess. “ He bears my husband ill-will for 
leaving him, but I am thankful there are some 
things beyond his control. It was a good day 
for us when young Tom began to study the beer 
catechism ; and now his father is as strong 
against beer and tobacco as he is. Such men as 
Mr. Hindman seem to think the world was made 
expressly for them and their families, and little 
do they care for anybody else. Their business 
is to drag folks down to the bottomless pit. 
They don’t call it so, but that is what it gene- 
rally comes to in the end. 


272 The Winning Side. 

“ Brewer Hindman, with his smooth ways, is 
as bad as the worst. Bnt the Lord reigns, and 
his time will come. I don’t wish him any evil, 
bnt it may be that somebody will make money 
by selling liquor to his boy. Tom says there’s a 
day of reckoning coming for him, on account of 
the way he treated your grandfather. You 
ought to have some of the profits of his busi- 
ness.” 

“Why, Mrs. Lollard, I wouldn’t touch a cent 
of it. It would burn me through and through. 
Grandfather used to say that Mr. Hindman 
promised to pay him a good deal of money, and 
then didn’t do as he promised ; but perhaps the 
money would have done us more hurt than good. 
I am sorry Mr. Hindman is so bad, and I pray 
every day that he may grow better ; but he 
never will as long as he makes beer.” 

“No, Gretchen, that he won’t ; and the money 
he gets will prove a curse in the end. Tom says 
he don’t look as he used to. He don’t move as 
fast, or speak up as cheery.” 

“Maybe he has trouble we don’t know of.” 

“ He would not have acknowledged the exist- 
ence of any trouble. His family was all he could 
desire, and so far as depended upon him, had no 
wish ungratified. His wife shared in his ambi- 
tions, and his daughter helped to make their 
realization possible.” 


Settling Accounts. 273 

Claude was away at a boarding-school, where, 
as Agnes said, he would find more suitable asso- 
ciates than among the boys attending a public 
city school. Since coming home, she had used 
her influence to counteract the foolish notions 
he had adopted from the German girl, of whom 
he talked so much. The Chappelle boys came 
in for a share of her criticism and condemnation, 
although her brother stoutly maintained that 
they were “ splendid fellows, sure to get on in 
the world.” 

It was Agnes who told her father that Claude 
was forming low habits and low associations, 
and persuaded him to change his plans in regard 
to his son. 

“He even talks of signing a pledge of total 
abstinence,” she said, with a sneer. “ How 
would that look for a brewer’s son \ ” 

“He would be on the safe side if he should 
keep such a pledge,” replied Mr. Hindman. 

“ Why, father, how can you tolerate for a 
moment the idea of his doing such a thing ? If 
all the boys should keep . such a pledge, your 
trade would soon stop for want of customers. 
The pledge takes in beer, and you know that 
boys must drink to keep the number good. The 
more they drink, the more money there is for 
us to spend and enjoy.” 

“If you should marry a teetotaller, you would 
18 


2 74 The Winning Side. 

look on the other side, and perhaps sign the 
pledge yourself.” 

“No, indeed, father, I could never do that. 
I like a tonic too well ; and besides, I should 
not want for my nearest friend, one wise above 
what is written.” 

“No, Agnes ; but you know, of course, that ex- 
cess is always unfortunate, and often ruinous.” 

“I know it is bad for a poor man to get 
drunk — excuse that horrid word, father — and 
abuse his family, but such men would be coarse 
and rough, anyway. A gentleman is never 
drunk. A gentleman may become excited, ex- 
hilarated, and even partially intoxicated, but 
through it all he will be a gentleman.” 

“And would you marry such a man, Agnes?” 

“ I would not refuse to marry a gentleman be- 
cause he sometimes drank wine to excess, any 
sooner than if he drank several glasses of your 
beer every day. I have often heard you say 
that while temperance is a mark of wisdom, 
total abstinence is fanatical and foolish, and I 
trust to your judgment in regard to it.” 

“That is the way it has seemed to me.” 

“And to me, too, father. I have tried to im- 
press Claude with the same idea ; and now that 
he has different associates, I hope he will learn 
different ways of thinking. I could not bear to 
have my only brother a foolish fanatic.” 


Settling Accounts. 275 

“I am afraid there is no danger of that.” 

“ Afraid, father 1 Of what should yon be 
afraid ; you, the most prosperous man in the 
city? You have nothing to fear, and I have 
nothing to dread. My life stretches out before 
me like a long, bright summer day, because my 
father is pleased to make it so.” 

“I am happy in making your life bright for 
you, Agnes, and no cloud shall obscure your 
sky so long as sunshine or shade are of my 
choosing. The time may come when I cannot 
do what I would for you, but now you are my 
darling daughter, just as you were my darling 
little girl, years ago.” 

“ And you are my dear good father ; more to 
me than all the papas silly girls prate so much 
about. Now banish all the anxious look from 
yOur face, for I know there is nothing which 
need trouble you.” 

Notwithstanding all this, Charles Hindman 
was seriously troubled. The perfect confidence 
of his daughter seemed to him half recklessness ; 
find, although he would not have it suspected by 
any human being, he wished that Claude had 
signed Gretchen Stagel’s pledge. Such a wish 
was entirely inconsistent with his position and 
practice ; but Claude was his son, his only son, 
and a total abstainer could by no possibility be- 
come a drunkard, 


276 The Winning Side. 

“ Think of your own son, and have mercy on 
other sons,” a lady had said to him not many 
days before, when urging him to use his influ- 
ence against the sale of alcoholic drinks to 
minors. 

He had treated her with politeness, for she 
was the wife of a wealthy man ; but when she 
left him, he smiled derisively at the thought of 
her absurd request. 

There had been several prosecutions for break- 
ing the law forbidding the sale of liquor to 
minors, and some fines were imposed ; but with 
comparatively few exceptions, the law was 
everywhere disregarded. Indeed, many saloon- 
keepers complained of the limitation as a re- 
striction of their rights, and were quite deter- 
mined to evade it. 

“It is the wickedest thing,” exclaimed 
Gi’etchen Stagel to Mrs, Halland, as she came in 
with an empty basket, and sitting down, burst 
into tears before she could say more. 

“What is it, child? ” asked the old lady. 

“It is that awful Water street saloon. The 
wickedest man that ever was there is there now, 
and he hired two of my boys to drink some beer 
this very afternoon.” 

“ How do you know that, Gretchen ? ” 

“I came around that way, and some of the 
other boys told me, I don’ t know what made 


Settling Accounts. 277 

me go to Water street, for I was in a hurry to 
get home ; but I did, and now I am almost dis- 
couraged. There is so much wicked drinking, 
that what I do is like trying to scoop up a big 
river with a pint- basin.” 

“ But think how many you have helped save, 
Gretchen. Look at your long list of names.” 

“But think, Mrs. Halland, of the millions I 
have not on my list. Some of them, too, have 
broken their pledge. I wish my grandfather 
had never left the old country. Then perhaps 
Mr. Hindman wouldn’t have learned to make 
beer, and there wouldn’t be any Water street 
saloon. It seems sometimes as though I was to 
blame for it all.” 

“You are not to blame for it, child. You are 
doing what you can, and you must leave the rest 
to God.” 

“But don’t you think if all the Christians 
would do what they could, they could stop the 
liquor-making and selling, so the poor children 
could have a chance for something good? ” 

“Yes, Gretchen, I think they could.” 

“Then why don’t they do it? Why don’t 
they do it ?” 

This is the cry echoed far and wide, and as 
yet there is no satisfactory response. 


CHAPTER XXV. 


LAW AND ORDEE. 

Me. Hindman was fast learning that Mr. 
Chappelle was as determined as himself. As 
President of the Law and Order League, this 
gentleman, who had already taken a good posi- 
tion among the lawyers of the city, was un- 
wearied in his efforts to enforce the law as ap- 
plied to the sale of intoxicating liquors. 

He did not fear that he should for this reason 
fail of patronage, as indeed he had no cause for 
fear. His integrity, energy, and ability, gave 
him an unquestioned advantage. In the best 
sense of that term, he was a prosperous man. 

His daughter was a successful teacher, half- 
disappointed, perhaps, that she was not allowed 
to contribute something to the support of their 
home. She was still the leading spirit in all the 
temperance work of the seminary, making her 
influence felt where Mrs. Kempton’s best endeav- 
ors would have failed of any effect. 

She was the idol of her brothers, while she, in 

turn, regarded them with the most sincere affec- 
( 278 ) 


Law and Order. 279 

tion. They had more than realized their antici- 
pations as gardeners, having provided the family 
with vegetables, besides gaining quite a sum 
from the sale of what remained. This amount 
had been deposited in the bank, as the nucleus 
of a fund to meet their college expenses. 

Many who liad at one time seemed to forget 
Mrs. Chappelle’s existence, now met her with 
cordial deference, and those who had felt for her 
a real sympathy were fain now to offer her con- 
gratulations rather than condolence. 

The “box of a house” was made more and 
more attractive ; all the dearer to its occupants 
because at some no distant day it would be their 
very own. 

Dice Sangal’s mother came regularly to do a 
certain part of the work. Dice often found em- 
ployment in the garden, or in the sale of vege- 
tables, both of which he did with a wonderful 
display of good-natured energy. He was de- 
voted to his mother, to Gretchen Stagel, and to 
the Chappelle' s, from the oldest to the youngest. 

The shed was still his home, but it had been 
so constantly improved and- repaired, that it 
would hardly be recognized from one month to 
another. The few feet of ground belonging to 
it was so covered with vines and flowers, that 
many who were passing stopped to look and 
admire. 


28 o 


The Winning Side. 

“ It aint beer that makes things grow so. It 
aint nothing but water, same as what makes me 
grow so fast,” Dice would say in answer to all 
inquiries. 

To Theron and Victor Chappelle he was a 
never-failing source of amusement, and yet they 
were his firm friends, helping him in every way 
possible. A stanch teetotaller; he was instant 
in season and out of season in proclaiming the 
gospel of temperance. He knew all about the 
Water street house and saloon. He had been 
there with Gretchen, and contributed his penny, 
every Sxinday, for the benefit of the poor chil- 
dren. 

“Dice will make his mark as an apostle of 
temperance,” said Victor Chappelle. 

“ A queer apostle he will be,” responded 
Theron. 

“There is more than one kind of an apostle 
needed in the world, and Dice could keep a good 
many boys away from the saloon, when you and 
I would just waste our breath trying.” 

“No doubt of that, Victor, and I am perfectly 
willing you should call him an apostle. But 
one thing is sure, he is a born mechanic, and 
father says he shall have a chance to learn a 
trade. Mr. Tolland will take him as an appren- 
tice as soon as he is old enough to leave school. 
He is walking right along in his studies.” 


Law and Order. 


281 


“ Gretchen discovers tlie queerest people, and 
tlie brightest children.” 

“ That is because she always discovers the best 
there is in them. She is so good that everybody 
has confidence in her ; and sometimes she is so 
funny that children treat her as though she was 
a child with them.” 

“That is it exactly, Theron. Just think of 
Mr. Hindman not wanting her to go to Water 
street again. She will, though. Father says he 
don’t own the street, and if he owns the house 
where his saloon is, he don’t own the people who 
live in it.” 

“ He almost owned them before Gretchen 
Stagel began to go there. He owns a big brew- 
ery, and what somebody calls a splendid beer- 
garden, and that ought to satisfy him.” 

“One beer-garden can’t sell all the beer he 
brews, and now boys don’t go there except on 
the sly, it makes a difference. Wonder if any- 
body will sell beer to Claude Hindman V’ 

“ Of course anybody will, if he pays for it.” 

“ I shall be sorry for him. He is a good- 
hearted sort of a fellow when he forgets that his 
father is a rich man.” 

That was true ; but in the boarding-school 
where he was then a pupil, he would not be 
likely to forget this, especially as he received 
marked attention on account of his father’s 


282 


The Winning Side. 

wealth. It did not, however, interfere with his 
habits of study. He had suddenly become am- 
bitious to excel as a scholar, and hard work ena- 
bled him to realize his ambition. 

His parents were delighted with the reports 
made to them. His sister praised and flattered 
him until he redoubled his efforts. At the same 
time he grew more exclusive, and more haughty 
in his manners, even with those he acknowledged 
as his equals. 

This pleased Agnes, who chose to regard her- 
self and her brother as quite above ordinary con- 
siderations. When meeting Constance Chap- 
pelle she bowed coldly, although admonished by 
her father that Mr. Chappelle was a rising man, 
whose family she could not afford to slight. 

To Marvie Canning she was effusive in her 
demonstrations of regard, notwithstanding the 
entire want of sympathy between them. She 
had her own reasons for making the most of this 
acquaintance, while Mr. and Mrs. Canning had 
their reasons for treating Mr. and Mi’s. Hindman 
with something like cordiality. 

Matters were nearing a crisis. The spirit in 
the air betokened this. “The law shall be en- 
forced,” said Mr. Chappelle, and those banded 
with him to maintain law and order. “ The law 
shall not be enforced,” said Mr. Hindman and 
his colleagues ; and so the strife began. 


Law and Order. 


283 


Late one evening, when a prominent saloon- 
keeper thought himself secure from observation, 
he admitted a party of boys to the saloon, to . 
v/hom he sold beer, which they drank until their 
funds were exhausted. They were careful to 
make no disturbance, but as they were draining 
their last glasses, the door was forced open, and 
a policeman entered accompanied by Tom Lol- 
lard. who had in some way suspected what was 
transpiring. 

He was too wise to be deceived, and too de- 
cided to be rebuffed ; so that despite all attempts 
to evade the consequences of the unlawful sale, 
the next morning six writs were served upon the 
saloon-keeper, who went at once to Mr. Hindman. 

“ Tom Lollard’s work,” he said, with an oath. 
“ He is always on the watch to make trouble for 
us, and there is no buying him off, or keeping 
him out of the way. He knows every crook and 
turn of the business, too, and that makes it 
harder for us. I wish he would leave the city, 
but there is no hope of that. They say he will 
get an appointment on the police. He has 
Chappelle to back him, and that counts for a 
great deal in these days.” 

“ What shall I do with these writs % I have no 
money to waste on fines.” 

“ When you took the saloon you took the 
risks.” 


284 The ^Winning Side. 

“No, sir ; I was to obey orders, and you know 
what they were. The risks belonged to you. I 
acted according to my best judgment. The boys 
had been waiting a good while for a frolic, and 
we thought we were safe. I shall have nothing 
more to do with the saloon, anyway. Selling 
beer isn’t as respectable as it used to be, and I 
am tired of it. If I am held responsible for 
these fines, somebody else will suffer with me.” 

“Why didn't you go to Colman instead of 
coming to me?” asked the brewer, sharply. 
“ It is not my business to look after all the sa- 
loons in town.” 

“Well, sir, I choose to go to head-quarters ; 
and besides, I prefer to deal with a sober man. 
I received my orders from you.” 

“ I have had no writs served upon me.” 

“You will have, unless the money is forth- 
coming.” 

It was useless for Mr. Hindman to parley fur- 
ther ; useless, too, for him to express the indig- 
nation which he felt. The money was advanced, 
the saloon closed ; and Tom Lollard took credit 
to himself for having accomplished thus much 
in the way of reform. 

The brewer’s perplexities and annoyances in- 
creased. Mr. Colman had become an immoder- 
ate drinker ; often quite unfitted for the duties 
devolving upon him, so that more and more the 


Law and Order. 285 

details of the entire business rested upon his 
brother-in-law. 

He had never been a teetotaller, but time was 
when he had some scruples in regard to pushing 
intoxicating drinks Trpon the market, when the 
demand must be created before the supply could 
be sold. These scruples had now all vanished, 
and with them much of the self-control which 
had restrained his appetite for alcoholic drinks. 

The business he once regarded vdth a feeling 
akin to disgust, now seemed to him as honorable 
as it was lucrative. He had been admitted be- 
hind the scenes, and knew what most people only 
suspect, therefore policy would retain him in his 
position. His partner had too much at stake to 
risk the effect of revelations which might be made. 
It was no time for quarrels and separations. 

People said Mr. Hindman was overworking. 
His wife was anxious in regard to his health, 
and Agnes exerted herself to charm the wrinkles 
from his brow ; but all this did not banish the 
unrest from his mind. 

Since settling with the Willett heirs, and pay- 
ing the amount demanded by Mr. Lansing, he 
had heard nothing from them or his aunt. He 
never wished to hear from them, and if he could 
have forgotten them, he would gladly have done 
so ; yet the thought of them haunted him day 
and night. 


286 


The Winning Side. 

He occasionally met Mr. Mnnsoa, but they 
met as strangers. This man had escaped from 
his influence, and they had nothing in common. 
He knew of Arnot Slocum as one trusted and re- 
spected, and was not surprised when a notice of 
his old employe’s marriage appeared in the city 
papers. Occasionally he saw Prentiss Wether- 
bee, whose appearance left nothing to be told 
of the change which had transformed a beggar 
into a self-supporting, self-respecting man. 

Of all who had left him, perhaps, at this junc- 
ture, he most feared the influence of Tom Lol- 
lard, who was known as a pronounced temper- 
ance worker, filling a place in the ranks for 
which no one else was so well qualified. This 
strong, rough man, with warm heart and ready 
hand, scorned to use any dishonorable means for 
the discovery of illegal liquor selling ; yet he 
was seldom at fault in his suspicions. He took 
counsel often with Gretchen Stagel, and through 
her made the acquaintance of Mr. Chappelle, 
who found in him the very man needed for sharp 
aggressive work on the police force. 

A strong influence was brought to bear against 
him, but law and order prevailed. Money was 
spent to accomplish liis defeat, but in this case it 
was proved that some considerations outweighed 
that of money. 

Was it any wonder that with all these dis- 


Law and Order. 


287 


appointments and failures, Charles Hindman 
should think of the old home which had shel- 
tered him, and the old friends who had prayed 
for him % 

Sometimes in the hurry and rush which be- 
came every year more exciting, he longed for 
rest, away from the bustle and turmoil v/hich 
half distracted him. He did not acknowledge to 
being an old man. He considered himself in the 
pidme of life, but there were days, when alone 
with the thoughts and memories crowding upon 
him, he seemed to have lived far beyond the 
allotted age of man. 

Yet he was in the whirl of business. He was 
running his new brewery to its full capacity. 
He was making new investments. His wealth 
was rapidly increasing. He was regarded as a 
representative man among men of kindred inter- 
ests as his own. He had great influence in cer- 
tain quarters. 

His family were gaining social recognition 
among desirable people. He was congratulated 
upon his successful career ; complimented for 
his energy, and praised for his generosity. He 
gave, where the giving would bring him honor 
and personal advantage ; he withheld, where 
withholding would be unknown, or readily ex- 
cused. 

There was no young lady in the city who dress- 


288 


The Winning Side. 

ed more elegantly than Agnes Hindman, and 
there was not one upon whom was lavished 
more of devoted affection and admiration. 

“ If ever trouble comes to Hindman’s daugh- 
ter it will kill him,” remarked one of his friends. 
“ He just worships her, and that she is a hand- 
some, brilliant girl no one can deny. Sometimes, 
however, there is a dash of recklessness in her 
manner which under certain circumstances might 
be disagreeble.” 


CHAPTEE XXyi. 


A STEAKGE LETTER. 

“Arthtje said you wished to see me, so I 
came over as soon as I received your message,” 
said Zenas Jaquith, as he entered Miss Bates’ 
kitchen. 

“Yes, I want you to tell me what to do,” she 
replied. “ I have received a strange letter, and I 
don’t know how I ought to answer it. You can 
read it, and then tell me what you think of it.” 

It was a very strange letter, written by Charles 
Hindman to “Dear Aunt Euth.” In it he ex- 
pressed regret for having taken any part of his 
grandfather’s property, and asked the privilege 
of repaying that part to which he then knew he 
had no legal right. He was anxious to do this, 
paying also the customary interest for the use 
of the money. His aunt had a just claim to this 
amount, and he hoped she would not allow her 
prejudice against him to influence her in the 
matter. 

Mr. Jaquith read the letter carefully, while 

Miss Bates waited for his advice. 

19 


( 289 ) 


290 The Winning Side. 

“ It is right that yon should take the money,” 
he said at last. “Charles Hindman is growing 
older, and report says he is ageing fast in his 
looks. It is possible that life looks different to 
him from what it did twenty years ago.” 

“ I thought I would rather starve than take a 
cent of his money.” 

“It is not his money ; it was never his money. 
It is yours, and you have been defrauded of the 
use of it all these years. As for starving, you 
will never be left to starve as long as your neigh- 
bors have a crust to divide with you.” 

“ My neighbors are very kind, but I should be 
sorry to depend on them, and I cannot always 
do as I have done. When Arthur buys a farm, 
he will take Anna and Raney with him, and that 
will leave me alone again. I have been thinking 
of Persis Dustin. She is poor and lame, and 
without a home ; but she is a good soul, who 
would be company for me and help about the 
work. I have had her here a week or two at a 
time, and I think she would be glad to come and 
stay.” 

“Of course she would, and it would be a deed 
of charity to give her such a home as she would 
have here. You can do it and be quite inde- 
pendent, if Charles Hindman pays what he owes 
you.” 

“Yes, I can ; and I don’t know but it would 


A Strange Letter. 291 

be best. Perhaps I have thought too hard of 
him. I don’t suppose he is any worse than a 
good many others. If he really wants to make 
reparation for having wronged me, as he says he 
does, 1 don’t know as I ought to tell him he 
can’t do it.” 

“For your own sake you ought not to do it. 
There is not another woman in town who could 
have done what you have, and you have earned, 
a rest. Persis Dustin will be very thankful for 
the privilege of living with you ; and she will 
have better health, too, when she has no dread 
of the poor-house before her. Hers is one of the 
saddest cases we have among us.” 

“ Liquor did it all, too, Zenas.” 

“Yes, it did. Liquor fills our poor-houses as 
well as our jails, and the longer I live the more 
determined I am to fight against it. I know it 
is said that the man who does that will fail of 
political honors, but that is of small account 
compared with the approbation of one’s con- 
science ; and besides there is a good time com- 
ing, ’though we may not live to see the day.” 

“ Your temperance principles have not made 
you unpopular. 

“Not here, perhaps, but I have felt it some- 
times when away. There is so much money in- 
vested in liquor, and so much to be made by the 
sale of it, that those who are pecuniarily inter- 


292 The Winning Side. 

ested will resort to almost any measures to pro- 
tect themselves. Charles Hindman would stop 
at nothing short of actual crime to keep up his 
business.” 

“I wish I could feel sure he would stop at 
that. I don’t know, after all, but money from 
him will bring a curse with it, even if it is my 
just due.” 

Mr. Jaquith met this objection as he had 
others, and within a week Miss Bates wrote to 
her nephew, thanking him for remembering her, 
and expressing her willingness to accept the 
amount he proposed to send her. 

It was a more cordial letter than he had dared 
to expect ; and appreciating this, he promptly 
remitted what seemed to his aunt a small for- 
tune ; congratulating himself that the transaction 
he considered the meanest of his life, no longer 
stood against him. Something was gained, and 
in his own estimation, at least, something was 
set over to his credit. 

At the same time, the exigencies of business 
demanded close attention. A temperance res- 
taurant had been opened not far from the beer- 
garden, which had proved a most profitable in- 
vestment, and this was by no means pleasing to 
the proprietor. 

The rooms of this restaurant were fitted up in 
attractive style. The coffee sold was of the best. 


293 


A Strange Letter. 

tlie milk was tmdiliited, the food was well cook- 
ed and marvellously cheap. The manager was 
seldom seen by customers, yet his oversight of 
the business was everywhere apparent. ^ 

He was our old acquaintance of the little cellar 
restaurant, Mr. Darcy, who had been induced to 
open these uptown eating-rooms. He had some 
money which he had saved, and more was loaned 
to him, so that he was able to purchase his sup- 
plies for cash, which gave him a great advantage 
in the market. 

He provided whatever was necessary for his 
undertaking, and from the first was so well 
patronized, that there could be no question of 
his success. 

The price of a glass of beer would pay for an 
appetizing lunch, and after a few weeks many 
poor men who earned but little, chose the lunch 
rather than the beer. There was always pure 
cold water for all, without money and without 
price. Boys came in with their pennies, and 
bought home-made cakes and buns, delivered 
fresh every morning by Wirt Halland. 

The restaurant was doing a good work in a 
practical way. The illuminated mottoes adorn- 
ing the walls, were silent but eloquent preachers 
of temperance and religion. 

“A smart kind of opposition,” remarked a 
gentleman, who with Mr. Hindman was passing 


294 


The Winning Side. 

the temperance restaurant. “ A man can live 
without much drink, but when it comes to eat- 
ing. that is indispensable. They say ChappeUe 
started this.” 

“Very likely. He is wild on the temperance 
question.” 

“He is a host on any question, and what 
counts for as much more, he can draw a large 
following. I don’t agree with him in either pol- 
itics or religion, but I have a great respect for 
him and for his family. He will more than win 
back what he lost at the time of his failure ; and 
his boys are chips of the old block, bound to go 
ahead. They are bright, sharp, quick -witted 
fellows, honest as their father, and with as firm 
principles. If my boys had lived, and been as 
promising as Theron and Victor Chappelle, I 
should be the proudest, happiest man in the 
city.” 

“Then you consider them quite above the 
average.” 

“ Indeed I do. They are good financiers al- 
ready.” 

“Will they be brought up to business % ” 

“I imagine they will take to business, but I 
understand they are to go through college.” 

“It is quite a tax upon a poor man to send 
two boys through college.” 

“Chappelle will have no extra bills to pay for 


A Strange Letter. 295 

his boys. They are the squarest of the total 
abstainers from tobacco as well as liquor. Be- 
sides, Chappelle has now a good income, which is 
sure to increase right along. By the way, I 
hear that he is to be up for office again, and we 
may as well remember that he will be a hard 
man to beat. Grood morning.” 

Mr. Hindman knew that Mr. Chappelle would 
be nominated for office, and also that he would 
probably be elected, unless his opponents were 
on the alert with men and money. The brewer 
himself greatly desired this nomination from his 
party ; but at the last moment he declined being 
a candidate ; and it was then that he relinquish- 
ed all hope of political preferment. 

A message which came to him through the 
post office, without date or signature, warned 
him to keep to his beer and his brewing, leaving 
politics to better men ; otherwise some facts, in 
his history would be made public which he 
would find it hard to explain to the satisfaction 
of honorable people. To make the warning more 
effective, these facts were enumerated with start- 
ling brevity. 

Charles Hindman burned the anonymous letter 
but he did not forget its contents. He made no 
effort to discover the writer. It was enough for 
him to know that the threats could be easily car- 
ried into effect. He dared not risk the revela- 


296 The Winning Side. 

tion wMch might be made. It was a heavy blow 
to him ; the harder to be borne, because it must 
be borne in silence. 

The leaders of his party in the city, knowing 
his ability as a manager in desperate cases, and 
counting on a munificent contribution for cam- 
paign purposes, urged him to reconsider his de- 
cision, but he was not to be turned from his pur- 
pose. He supported the regular candidate and 
paid liberally towards the expenses ; yet no one 
could fail to see that he had lost something of 
his old-time enthusiasm. 

The result of the election was not what he de- 
sired, although it could not be said that he was 
disappointed. He had anticipated it, and person- 
ally it would not much affect him. He even 
joined in the praises of the successful candidate, 
for whom he assured his brother-in-law he had 
the most profound respect. 

“I don’t understand how it is Chappelle gets 
ahead so fast,” responded Mr. Colman. “Every- 
body said he had less than a hundred dollars 
left after his failure, and now he has partly paid 
for the house and lot he occupies, besides meet- 
ing the expenses of his family right along. He 
must have done better than almost any other 
man in the city.” 

“He did not do it by hard drinking,” retorted 
Mr. Hindman. 


A Sttange Letter. 297 

“Of course not. I know that as well as you 
do ; and I know, too, that you are hitting me 
about drinking.” 

“ Then I wish you would act accordingly.” 

“I will stop drinking liquor when you do.” 

“It is a different thing with me from what it 
is with you. No one ever saw me when 1 could 
not manage myself and my business. I never 
drink to excess. If there was any danger of that 
I would swear off to- day.” 

“ Beer and all ?” 

“Yes, beer and all. Do you suppose I would 
stoop to be a drunkard % ” 

“I don’t suppose anything about it, but I 
know our business will demoralize a man pretty 
fast, as far as temperance is concerned.” 

“You are at liberty to leave the business 
whenever you please, Mr. Colman.” 

“You are mistaken there. I need my share 
of the profits. If I had as much money as my 
honored brother-in-law, I could live at my ease 
and do as I please ; but a poor man like me must 
do as he can.” 

“Then for mercy sake, Colman, do learn to 
keep your tongue still when your brains are in 
such a muddle you don’t know what you ought 
to talk about. Business is business, and the 
public has nothing to do with its inside work- 
ings. If I was to go back a few years, with my 


298 


The Winning Side. 

present experience, I would not take a partner 
on any conditions.” 

“ Sorry you are not suited, Hindman, but I 
don’t know anything than can be done about it 
now.” 

“You can keep sober and attend to your 
dirties.” 

Such colloquies were frequent between the two 
men, ending, as did this, without gain to either, 
and yet sure to be renewed at some future time. 

Now that Mr. Hindman’s ambition was cir- 
cumscribed, he became more determined to ac- 
complish all that was possible in what remained 
to him. He had accumulated wealth beyond 
the most extravagant dreams of his youth, but 
his possessions must be multiplied until men 
would talk of him as “ a money king.” 

To effect this, he schemed and planned as he 
had not done in his most vigorous days. He sel- 
dom allowed himself any respite from business ; 
almost his only recreation consisting in admiring 
his family, upon whom he lavished every indul- 
gence, and for whom he would have made any 
possible sacrifice. 


CHAPTER XXVII. 


THE THIRD WARNING. 

“Another instance of Mr. Hindman’s gene- 
rosity. He lias recently made ample provision 
for the support of an aged relative, who would 
otherwise be forced to depend upon public 
charity.” 

How this item found its way into the journal 
devoted to the brewer’s interest, its editor did 
not say; but within twenty -four hours of its 
appearance, the man whose generosity was thus 
chronicled received an anonymous communica- 
tion, demanding that he should, over his own 
signature, acknowledge that he had only paid a 
just debt to a relative, who; so far from being 
poverty-stricken, was the owner of a comfort- 
able home. 

Failing to do this, the whole truth in regard 
to the debt would be made public at an early 
day. Evidently, some one was watching the 
wealthy brewer, ready at any provocation to 
make him feel that he was standing on danger- 
ous ground. He honored the demand made 

( 299 ) 


300 


The Winning Side. 

upon him, and was then praised for not taking 
undeserved credit to himself ; so that he had no 
reason to regret the acknowledgment. 

His family knew there was an aunt somewhere 
in the country, but they had been told that she 
was old-fashioned, ignorant, and bigoted, so that 
they had no wish to make her acquaintance. 
Undesirable relatives were to be ignored. Agnes 
especially insisted that no one should be recog- 
nized socially who was in any way objectionable. 

She admitted that in the way of business it 
was necessary for her father to be on speaking 
terms with many whom, under other circum- 
stances, he would treat as strangers. The other 
members of the family must maintain their posi- 
tion which had been so hardly won. 

Gradually she became aware that Constance 
Chappelle was welcomed in circles where it had 
been her highest ambition to shine. Still teach- 
ing, the brave girl was developing into a queenly 
woman, with a rare charm of manner which won 
for her a host of friends ; of whom, however, 
Agnes Hindman was not one. 

“ How any one can see anything in Con Chap- 
pelle to admire is more than I can understand,” 
she said to her mother, after the two young 
ladies had met at a select party, where the 
speaker felt herself half eclipsed by her old 
schoolmate. “ She does not dance, or play 


The Third Warning. 301 

cards, or do any of the things society girls are 
expected to do, but for all that she had a crowd 
ai’ound her, and everybody seemed anxious to 
talk with her.” 

“ I have heard that she is very intelligent, and 
a very fine talker. She is a fine musician, too.” 

“She is, but in school I stood as high in 
music as she did. I don’t sing as she does, but 
I have some gifts that she has not. No one calls 
her handsome.” 

“ I have heard her called beautiful. Perhaps 
there is a difference between being handsome 
and beautiful.” 

“ Some people would make a distinction ; but 
distinction or not, mother, I am not afraid to 
stand beside Con Chappelle. She usually dress- 
es very plainly, although last evening she wore 
a rich brocade silk which must have been in the 
family for generations. It was becoming to her, 
and if I had never seen her before, I might pos- 
sibly have thought her handsome.” 

“ I am sorry you do not like her, Agnes. 
Your father thinks it would be best to cultivate 
Mrs. Chappelle’ s acquaintance. Mr. Chappelle 
is a popular man, and she was always a leader 
in her set.” 

“ I know people say so, but for all that I can 
not admire Con. If I treat her politely when I 
meet her, that is all you can expect of me.” 


302 The Winning Side. 

The brocade silk of rose pink which suited so 
well the wearer’s complexion, had aroused the 
envy of Agnes Hindman, who in all her ward- 
robe had nothing which seemed to her so lovely. 
Against her own inclination, Constance Chap- 
pelle was persuaded to wear her great grand- 
mother’ s wedding dress with the laces which had 
adorned the fair bride of long ago ; and if only 
her brothers had seen her thus attired, their ad- 
miration would have quite satisfied her. 

“I wish I was old enough to go to the party 
with you,” exclaimed Victor, who assured her 
that although she was always pretty as could be, 
she had never before looked so well. “ I wish I 
could go, just to see you beside Agnes Hind- 
man. Folks say she always dresses like a 
qfieen, but she can’t dress any better or look any 
handsomer than you will this evening.” 

“I am not anxious to outshine her.” 

“ Of course you are not. Sensible people are 
never anxious to outshine others. They just do 
what they ought to, and then let people think 
what they please. But I don’t like Agnes Hind- 
man, and I don’t believe I ever shall. If father 
should get rich again, I suppose she would 
speak to us. I don’t think though he will ever 
be very rich, but we shall own this house and lot 
before long. 

“The house don’t seem so small since we had 


The Third Warning. 303 

the veranda on the south side, and now Mrs. 
Sangal comes every day to do the work, mother 
has time to read and make pretty things, as she 
used to. 

“ I am very glad mother has more leisure.” 

“ So am I, but I tell you we boys enjoyed 
helping her, and planning how to live well with- 
out spending much money. I am glad we have 
learned to work, and if Claude Hindman had 
been obliged to go to work when we were, he 
would be a good deal better than he is now. He 
don’t look as he did before he went away to 
school. He smokes cigarettes, and Gretchen 
says she thinks he drinks beer. His face is 
growing puflfy. It will be a pity if he goes to 
the bad ; for he might be a first-rate fellow.” 

Theron and Victor Chappelle always express- 
ed this opinion of Claude Hindman, even when 
others condemned him ; and they often said to 
each other that if Claude’s sister was like Con- 
stance, he would be different. 

But alas for the contrast between these sisters. 
Agnes Hindman’s influence did not hold her 
brother to high ideals. She wished him to be a 
gentleman, ready to conform his habits to the 
popular demand. Thinking of him as compared 
with Vinal Canning, she preferred that he should 
exercise more of self-control, yet her admiration 
for young Canning was no less than it had been 


304 The Winning Side. 

when she was a school girl, and praised him as 
“splendid.” 

People talked of the probability of a match 
between the brewer’s daughter and the wine 
merchant’s son; some with predictions of un- 
happiness, and some with careless jestings. 

“ If Vinal Canning could make himself be- 
lieve that he had a shadow of a chance with Con- 
stance Chappelle, it is my belief he would do his 
best to win her,” remarked a lady whose judg- 
ment in such matters was to be trusted. 

“But what of Agnes Hindman?” responded 
another. “ It is generally thought that she pre- 
fers him to any of her other admirers, and they 
are certainly a handsome couple.” 

“They would be, if his face did not show the 
marks of dissipation ; and hers, the prophecy 
of grossness ; yet I have seen them together 
when all this seemed to fade away, leaving only 
the faultless figures and handsome faces to be 
admired.” 

“ Do you suppose Mr. Hindman would favor 
the match ? ” 

“I should not think he would. He must 
know what Vinal Canning’s habits are, but if his 
daughter wishes to marry the profligate — Can- 
ning is a profligate, if his father is a rich man — 
she will not be likely to give him up to please 


The Third Warning. 305 

lier father. She has a will of her own and she 
rules her father’s house.” 

“ She will never rule Yinal Canning. If she 
marries him, she must accept her fate as he wills 
it, not as she would have it. Neither his mother 
nor sister have any influence over him.” 

“ The influence of the two would be very dif- 
ferent. The property Mrs. Canning holds in her 
own right was made by selling wine. What she 
has transferred to Marvie she inherited from an 
aunt for whom Marvie was named ; and who 
never, under any circumstances, tasted a drop 
of any intoxicating liquor. It is to be deplored 
that one like Vinal Canning should ruin his 
prospects for life when there is so much in his 
favor.” 

“It is deplorable that any one should sacrifice 
the possibilities of an honorable life for the gra- 
tification of a mere appetite.” 

“ Why should any one do this % My boys are 
so young that I can keep them near me, but I 
often ask myself what will their future be. 
Rather than have them dissipated and dishonor- 
able as so many are, I would have them die 
now.” 

“It would be better; but who can tell what 
our children will do? I am sometimes tempted 
to join the woman’s movement in favor of total 
20 


3o6 The Winning Side. 

abstinence and moral purity. Of course I be- 
lieve in the latter, and am so far a convert to 
total abstinence, that even against the advice of 
my physician, I have given up the use of beer as 
a tonic.” 

“ What, Hindman’s best ; so pure that it will 
not injure the most delicate child, and so strong 
that it is both food and medicine ? ” 

“ Yes, just that, and it was time I gave it up. 
It cost me so much of an effort that I was 
ashamed of my weakness. Ho one knows what 
a hold the habit has, so long as it is indulged. 
My husband and I have decided that we must 
live as we wish our children to live. Mr. Chap- 
pelle has talked with my husband, and I believe 
he would talk the most obstinate into accepting 
his theories. My husband says he is so sincere 
and so thoroughly in earnest, that his words 
carry conviction with them. He is a Christian 
whom every one can trust, and it is said there is 
not another man in the city the liquor dealers 
fear as they do him.” 

“ Mr. Hindman fears him, or there would 
never be so much money spent in working for 
his defeat when he is up for office. Mr. Hind- 
man is general manager of politics for the liquor 
interest.” 

The brewer had been quite willing to accept 


The Third Warning. 307 

this responsibility, but recent events had ruade 
him less confident. It was true that he feared 
Mr. Chappelle, but he feared his anonymous 
correspondent stUl more. 

At every attempt to increase his business, he 
was apprehensive that some" new demand might 
be made upon him ; until, at last, he resolved to 
try his fortune elsewhere. He visited a thriving 
western city, and purchased a lot of land upon 
which he proposed to erect a brewery, trusting 
to his former luck to secure the right man to 
represent him in the business. 

Of course so important a transaction was duly 
reported, with flattering comments upon the 
sagacity of “our worthy fellow-citizen.” 

His plans were carefully laid, and he experi- 
enced something of the zest which in the old 
days had made business a pleasure. He confi- 
dently expected this would prove the crowning 
financial success of his life. 

But it was not to be. He was warned that he 
could not build another brewery east or west, 
without subjecting himself to an exposure of vil- 
lanies and their consequences, which would for- 
ever brand him as a criminal of criminals. 

This third anonymous letter quite prostrated 
him. The avenging angel seemed standing over 
against him, waiting only for some signal to in- 


3o8 The Winning Side. 

flict tlie punisb.ment lie well knew that he de- 
served. 

The public was surprised at the change in his 
plans, but he decided to erect a large business 
block instead of a brewery, as he had at first in- 
tended. 


CHAPTEE XXVIII. 


SOME CHANOES. 

Time, which waits for neither men nor meas- 
ures, sped on. The “ box of a house ” was only 
the L to a large and commodious dwelling. The 
fortune of the family occupying it had rapidly 
improved, until larger accommodations could be 
afforded. 

Mr. Chappelle was gaining new friends and 
new clients by his kindness and ability. His 
boys, who were all he could desire, entered col- 
lege at the same time as Claude Hindman, 
equally well fitted in the prescribed studies, 
although they had their training entirely in the 
public schools of the city. 

In every other qualification necessary to suc- 
cess as students, they were vastly his superior. 
They had, also, the prestige of their father’s 
scholarship, which was both an advantage and 
an incentive. They made no display of wealth ; 
their rooms were plainly furnished, and they 
indulged in no expensive habits, but they were 
not long in taking their rightful place among 
their fellows. 


( 309 ) 


310 The Winning Side. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cliappelle might well be congrat- 
ulated, but they were not alone in rejoicing over 
the honorable record made by their children. 
Many others were interested to hear from Con- 
stance, who was studying in Europe while her 
brothers were studying at home. Some of these 
were humble friends, yet none the less was their 
friendship prized. 

Grretchen Stagel, owner of the old red house, 
and proprietor of a store occupying one of the 
large front rooms, where she sold a variety of 
family supplies at moderate prices, regarded the 
Chappelle family as worthy of all respect and 
affection. Mr. Chappelle had acted as her agent 
in the purchase of the house where she had so 
long been a tenant. Indeed, he had advised her 
to make this investment of her savings ; an in- 
vestment which promised to bring her large 
returns of money, and opportunities for doing 
good. 

Theron and Victor Chappelle, with their sis- 
ter, had helped her in the mission school and in 
her temperance work, so that when they left she 
missed them sadly. Every item of intelligence 
from them was eagerly welcomed, and every 
message in which she was remembered was lov- 
ingly treasured. 

There was Wirt Halland, who often wished it 
had been his lot to have a thorough education ; 


Some Changes. 3 1 1 

and yet there was nothing of envy mingled with 
the grateful regard he felt for those who had 
shown him so much of kindness. They deserved 
every good which could come to them. 

They had given him their companionship when 
few cared for him, and encouraged him when 
the way before hirn was beset with difficulties ; 
and never in all their intercourse had they treat- 
ed him as an inferior. He was not one of whose 
friendship they need be ashamed, notwithstand- 
ing the contrast in their social position. The 
training received from Mr. Volsen had given him 
deftness and skill, which insured him a lucrative 
position in which he could earn a support for 
his grandmother and himself, thus realizing his 
early ambition. 

Mr. Yolsen, too, was benefitted. Since signing 
Grretchen’s pledge, his real superiority as an 
engraver had been recognized, so that his work 
was better compensated. 

“Everybody is going ahead, and I am going 
with them,” said Dice Sangal, after serving the 
first month of his apprenticeship. “ It is just as 
true as anything that there is a place for every- 
body in the world, if they only know how to 
find it.” 

“How are they going to know how to find 
it?” asked his mother, who looked upon him 
with pardonable pride. 


312 The Winning Side. 

“ Keep the pledge, and mind the Sunday 
teaching. Bead the Bible and ask God to help 
you, and then go ahead.” 

“Now, Dice, you boy, what for you laugh 
when you say solemn words?” asked Mrs. San- 
gal, reprovingly. 

“Because Fm so happy I can’t help laugh- 
ing, ” he replied. ‘ ‘ Don’ 1 1 have first-rate break- 
fasts, and dinners, and suppers, and don’t I 
sleep in a bed every night? Don’t Mr. Chap- 
pelle speak to me every time I meet him, and 
aint I going to build a house of our own some- 
time ? Guess a fellow better not cry when he 
has so many good things to be glad about.” 

Dice had verified Victor Chappelle’s predic- 
tion that he would be an apostle of temperance. 
A queer apostle, as Theron had said, but all the 
more successful because of the queerness which 
was sure to command attention. His strongest 
efforts were directed against beer, as he thought 
boys were more likely to begin with beer than 
with anything stronger ; and he was trying to 
save the boys. 

He never passed Hindman’s brewery, without 
clenching his hands and shaking his head ; mut- 
tering often a threat against the proprietor who 
was rolling in money, while he had taken bread 
from so many poor women and children. 

Dice had been one of the crowd who watched 


Some Changes. 313 

outside tlie brewer’s mansion to see what they 
could of the grand display made at the marriage 
of the brewer’s daughter. This marriage had 
been deferred from time to time in deference to 
the wishes of her father, who hoped something 
would occur to prevent it, but Agnes Hindman 
was fully resolved to marry Vinal Canning. 

She would not believe he could ever be other 
than a gentleman. Her father used every possi- 
ble means to convince her that she was jeopardiz- 
ing her happiness by trusting one every way so 
unworthy, and would have laid his commands 
upon her, had he not known that this would 
only make her more determined to follow her 
own inclinations. 

Claude warned her that she would be a drunk- 
ard’s wife ; when she retorted angrily that even 
in that event, her husband would be no worse 
than her brother. 

As for Mrs. Hindman, she felt herself power- 
less. She had so long yielded to her daughter, 
that resistance now seemed absurd, although 
she could not but express her fears. 

“ Mother, I must and will marry Vinal Can- 
ning,” at last said the infatuated girl. “ I have 
never seen any other man I should be willing to 
marry ; and even if I believed all that is said 
against him, I would marry him. If I had been 
taught to consider wine drinking a sin, I should 


314 The Winning Side. 

be different from what I am, but we are none of 
us teetotallers. A glass more or less does not 
matter, and I am willing to take whatever risk 
there is. So, mother, say no more about it. Only 
help me to make the whole affair brilliant and 
beautiful.” 

The bridgroom elect had been admitted to 
partnership by his father, and made some pre- 
tence of attention to business. He was to have 
a fixed income, in addition to a certain share in 
the profits ; the income being generous even 
when the wealth of the family was considered. 

Mr. Hindman bestowed an ample fortune upon 
his daughter, so secured that her husband could 
not control it, the income of which would pro- 
vide her with an elegant home ; and on her wed- 
ding day he made her the additional gift of a 
house equally as good as his own with whatever 
furnishing she might choose. 

The bridal outfit had been ordered from Paris, 
regardless of expense. If Mr. Hindman regret- 
ted the marriage, there was nothing wanting in its 
arrangements to make it as “ brilliant and beau- 
tiful” as could be desired. Agnes was still the 
idol of his heart, as she was the cynosure of all 
eyes, when standing before the altar, he resigned 
her to another. 

The wedding was “the social event of the sea- 
son. ’ ’ The reception following was a ‘ ‘ most bril- 


Some Changes. 3 1 5 

liant affair.” The stately mansion of the bride’s 
father was thronged with guests who showered 
congratulations upon the newly wedded pair. 

The bride was “superbly beautiful ; ” the bri- 
dal presents exceeded in richness, elegance and 
variety any display ever before made in the 
city on a similar occasion. A long list of these 
presents was furnished and printed, thus giving 
the outside world a peep behind the scenes 
where wealth receives its homage and pays its 
tribute. 

“ And all that for my grand niece I never set 
my eyes on and never expect to,” said Miss 
Ruth Bates, as she looked up from the paper in 
which she had been reading an elaborate de- 
scription of Agnes Hindman’s wedding. “ She is 
nothing to me, except that her grandmother was 
my sister, but I can’t help pitying her. If half 
what Cliff Munson said is true, she needs pity. 
If she is as headstrong as her father used to be, 
no mortal power could prevent her marrying 
that man if she had made up her mind to do it ; 
but for all that, I can’t help pitying her. 

“They say too that Claude, as they call the 
boy, drinks liquor, smart as he is. I am so sor- 
ry about it all, and it seems as though I grew sor- 
rier every day. It would be such a comfort, if I 
could think of somebody belonging to me who was 
helping make the world better. But there — it is 


3i6 The Winning Side. 

of no use for me to feel bad over wbat I can’t 
belp.” 

Miss Bates was alone in the house, so there 
was no danger that she would be overheard 
while speaking to herself, and having thus ex- 
pressed her feelings, she went out into the gar- 
den, where everything gave evidence of thrift and 
prosperity. 

Persis Dustin had proved a helpmeet, as well 
as a profitable companion ; gaining health and 
strength as she was relieved from anxiety, doing 
her best to express the gratitude she felt for be- 
ing provided with so pleasant a home. 


CHAPTEE XXIX. 


RETRIBUTION. 

One pleasant summer morning, a horse went 
galloping along the country road, a harness still 
clinging to him, and the wreck of a carriage 
bounding from side to side, as he made frantic 
efforts to free himself from the incumbrance. 

“Somebody must be hurt,” said Miss Bates, 
hurrying to the door ; but as no one was to be 
seen, she went back to her work, hoping that 
her neighbor, Zenas Jaquith, would arrest the 
flight of the horse. 

Not long after, this neighbor drove up, and at 
the same time a young man appeared, who told 
them that a companion with whom he was driv- 
ing was now lying by the roadside seriously in- 
jured. 

“We are strangers here, and I must ask for 
shelter for my friend until I can make other 
arrangements,” he said, his manner expressing 
more alarm than his words. 

“Bring binfi here and we will do the best we 
can for him,” responded Miss Bates, and the 

( 317 ) 


3i8 The Winning Side. 

stranger, witli Mr. Jaqnitli, went for the wound- 
ed man, who had been thrown upon a heap of 
rocks with terrible force. 

As soon as possible he was carried to the cot- 
tage and laid upon a bed prepared for him, while 
utterly unconscious of all around him. Simple 
restoratives were applied in vain. A physician 
vras called, but his skill was of no avail. The 
only signs of life were the heavy breathing and 
fluttering pulse. 

“ There is no hope for him,” was the decision, 
after a hasty examination. “He has not long to 
live. His friends should be notified at once. 
Has he parents \ ” 

“Yes, sir,” replied his companion, who seem- 
ed hardly to comprehend the sad occurrence. 

“ Give me his father’s address, and I will tele- 
graph as soon as I can reach the village,” said 
Mr. Jaquith. 

This being given. Miss Bates exclaimed ; 

“Charles Hindman’s son ! Claude Hindman ! 
And the boy is to die here in the old home! 
May God have mercy on his soul ! ” 

All through the day the little group watched 
by the bedside of the unconscious sufferer. Late 
in the evening came his father and mother, 
accompanied by their family physician, a man 
whose skill had placed him in the front rank of 
his profession. 


Retribution. 


319 


“ No earthly power can save yonr son,” said 
this physician, from whom the parents had 
hoped so much, “ The moment he was thrown 
from the carriage his death was certain.” 

There remained for them then only the weary 
waiting while a young life ebbed away. Money 
could not purchase a single hour’s respite, or a 
single assurance for the future. 

When all was over, Charles Hindman placed 
in the hands of his aunt a check for five hundred 
dollars, begging her to accept it, and at the same 
time expressing his sincere gratitude for her 
kindness. 

“My purposes are broken off,” he said, with 
an effort to control his voice ; adding, as she 
would have reminded him of One who overrules 
all things for good ; “I cannot think as you do. 
I have made mistakes in my life. I can see 
them now in a different light than ever before. 
Some of them I can rectify, and some must stand 
as they are.” 

Again the house was empty, except for the 
two women whose home it was. They talked 
little of what had transpired, but the thoughts 
of one were with those who had so strangely 
been forced to crave her hospitality 

She knew, and others knew, that this accident 
and death had been caused by the use of alco- 
holic drink. An empty brandy flask betrayed 


320 The Winning Side. 

t his fact, and tlie companion of the unfortunate 
young man acknowledged that he had drank 
heavily ; draining the flask in a spirit of bra- 
vado, and then irritating his horse by a reckless 
use of the whip. 

Claude Hindman was buried from his home, 
some of his classmates oflBiciating as pall-bear- 
ers, and needing no words to enforce the lesson 
of the hour. The closed casket was a mute but 
eloquent preacher. 

Dr. Mensel was the officiating clergyman, and 
as usual he eulogized the dead, whom a mysteri- 
ous Providence had taken from loving friends, 
when life was just opening before him with the 
most brilliant prospects for honor and happi- 
ness. 

Yet no one was deceived by this ; not even 
those to whom he was nearest and dearest. 
Many expressed sympathy for the affiicted fam- 
ily, while others felt that a just judgment had 
overtaken the scheming brewer. 

“ I never pitied any one more than I pity Mr. 
Hindman,” said Victor Chappelle, when he and 
his brother returned from the funeral. “That 
man is suffering a terrible punishment, and it is 
one he must bear as long as he lives. He knows 
as well as we do that Claude’s life was sacrificed 
to an appetite for liquor. He may count his 
wealth by millions, but he will pay dearly for 


Retribution. 


321 

every dollar. Those whom he has most injured 
can well afford to forgive him.” 

A few days later this same remark was made 
by Mrs. Halland to Prentiss Wetherbee. 

“ I wish I could forgive him,” responded the 
man who had never once broken his pledge, since 
he signed it that wretched morning, when the 
dwellers in the old red house helped him to “be- 
gin life over again.” 

“You cannot expect G-od to forgive you, un- 
less you forgive your enemies,” answered the 
dear old lady. “I am afraid your hard feelings 
against Mr. Hindman are keeping you back from 
being a Christian.” 

“ I know they are. I have known it for a long 
time, and yet it seems impossible for me to feel 
differently towards him. You don’t knowhow 
much I have to forgive.” 

“I know he cannot have sinned against you 
more than you have sinned against your Heav- 
enly Father.” 

To this assertion Mr. Wetherbee made no reply, 
but bidding Mrs. Halland good evening, left her 
abruptly. 

The next evening a gentleman called upon Mr. 
Hindman, and was shown into the library where 
this gentleman was sitting alone. Looking up 
and recognizing his visitor, he said with a per- 
ceptible tremor in his voice : 

21 


322 The Winning Side. 

“ I did not expect a call from you, Mr. Weth- 
erbee, but I was thinking of you.” 

“I did not expect to call upon you, but I 
could not rest longer without asking your for- 
giveness for the letters I have sent you. You 
had injured me and I wished to be revenged upon 
you. Having redeemed myself, I knew I had 
you in my power. I did wrong, and I have come 
now to ask your forgiveness.” 

“ But, Mr. Wetherbee, I am the one to ask 
your forgiveness. Can you forgive me for all 
the wrong I have done you ? ” 

“Yes, Mr. Hindman, I can. I have forgiven 
you, or you would not see me here. It was the 
hardest thing I ever tried to do, except to con- 
quer my appetite for liquor. I am not sure but 
it was harder even than that, but it is done. I 
would not injure you if I could, and I have come 
now to ask you to forgive me for what I have al- 
ready done. Will you forgive me ? ” 

“Forgive you, Prentiss Wetherbee!” ex- 
claimed Charles Hindman, all there was of good 
in his nature responding to the nobility of the 
man before him. “I have nothing to forgive. 
Will you forgive me ? ” 

“Freely, as I hope to be forgiven for all ray 
sins. You have my sympathy in all your trials. 
I am sorry for you.” 

The two men clasped hands, looking for a mo- 


Retribution. 


323 


ment each into the face of the other ; and then 
declining to remain longer, Prentiss Wetherbee 
went out, at peace with himself and with God. 

Well might he be sorry for the man whom 
many delighted to honor. The son dead; the 
daughter, the childless wife of one who in his 
craving for alcoholic liquors was fast forgetting 
to be a gentleman, despite his elegant home and 
abundant means. 

Worse too than this, the daughter was herself 
often under the influence of wine. Her beauty 
was on the wane. The prophecy of grossness 
tended to its fulfillment, which even the advan- 
tages of dress could not conceal. 

Her father, aware of her habits, would have 
given half his fortune to be sure that she would 
not bring disgrace upon his name by following 
her husband’s example. He could guard her 
against poverty, but he could not induce her to 
guard herself against the danger which threat- 
ened her. She was dear to him as ever, and in 
his very affection for her he was suffering most 
keenly. 

His business was prosperous, his wealth was 
increasing. His ambition to be regarded as “a 
money king” was well nigh achieved, yet in 
his heart he knew he was not on “the win- 
ning side.” 




















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